"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today, we return to my custom WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" card set and add the great Jackie Robinson:

To much hoopla, both good and sadly bad, Robinson was set to make his Major League debut as the first African-American player since the late 19th Century.

And so on Opening Day, April 15th, 1947, Jackie was penciled in at first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, and history was made, though I wish there was NO history that needed to be made in the first place.

Jackie went 0-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, as the Brooklyn Dodgers would go on to win the game 5-3.

I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

An American Legend.

"MINOR LEAGUE DAYS": LEGENDS EDITION: JACKIE ROBINSON

The next baseball legend to be added to my 1971 "Minor League days: Legends Edition" thread is all-timer Jackie Robinson:

He would suit up for one season with the Brooklyn Dodgers' Triple-A team, the Montreal Royals, and he'd give the fans everything he had, with a monster performance that saw him hit .349 over 124 games, scoring 113 runs and stealing 40 bases.

As if he had anything to prove, it was clear the man needed to be center stage in the Majors, so his time in Minor League ball was kept to one season before he made his historic MLB debut the following year, changing the game for good in every sense of the word.

1947 would open up with Jackie charging ahead to a Rookie of the Year Award, followed by an MVP just two seasons later, and onto history, opening up the game to other African-Americans and taking the sport to the next level.

Next card up in this series, his MLB debut!

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "HALL OF FAMER"

Today we come to the final stage of the legend Jackie Robinson and his magnificent career, with his rightful induction to the Hall of Fame in 1962, selected on his first time on the ballot:

Just a nice shot of the man along with his wife Rachel at the ceremony, holding up the plaque that would be seen by all on their visit to the museum.

What needs to be stated at this point regarding his incredible career and journey?

He broke the color-line, which I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

A true legend beyond the scope of the sport, becoming a cultural icon for many in the years to come.

 

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "WORLD CHAMPION"

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we move on to the next stage of the great Jackie Robinson's historic career, this time his World Championship of 1955, the year "Dem Bums" finally beat their dreaded crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees:

Of course the image I used is his famous steal of home that Hall of Famer Yogi Berra swore to his last days that Jackie was out.

The momentum was all Dodgers this time, even though it took the Dodgers seven games to finally win it all.

The Yankees won the first two games of the Fall Classic, but the Dodgers reeled off three straight, marking the home team winning the first five games of the series.

After the Yanks came back to force a game seven in the sixth game, winning 5-1 behind Whitey Ford and his second win of the series, the Dodgers handed the ball to young Johnny Podres, who would go on to shut out the powerful Yankee line-up 2-0, giving the fans of Brooklyn their long-awaited win.

For Jackie, he didn't have the best of series, hitting only .182 with four hits over 22 at-bats, but he did score five runs, while stealing that ever-important base at home during Game 1.

Nevertheless, the man took home a World Championship while giving the fans of Brooklyn more to cheer about before having their hearts ripped from their chests just three years later when the team would move to Los Angeles.

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "MOST VALUABLE PLAYER"

Up on the blog today, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of jackie Robinson's Major league debut in 1947 with a card marking his 1949 MVP season:

After two brilliant seasons in 1947 and 1948, Robinson topped them both with a stellar 1949 campaign, taking home the league MVP Award after leading the league with a .342 average and 37 stolen bases, while also scoring 122 runs, with 203 hits, 38 doubles, 12 triples and 16 homers, driving in 124 runs and collecting 313 bases.

The man was all-world!

This performance helped get the Brooklyn Dodgers back into the World Series after missing out the previous year, though they once-again would fall to the New York Yankee juggernaut, who would go on to win five straight championships through the 1953 season.

Another incredible stat from his 1949 season: in 704 plate appearances that year, he only struck out 27 times!

Just amazing.

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT"

Today on the blog, the next stage in the iconic career of the great Jackie Robinson in my 1972 25th anniversary sub-set celebrating his Major League debut, his Big League debut of 1947:

To much hoopla, both good and sadly bad, Robinson was set to make his Major League debut as the first African-American player since the late 19th Century.

And so on Opening Day, April 15th, Jackie was penciled in at first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, and history was made, though I wish there was NO history that needed to be made in the first place.

Jackie went 0-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, as the Brooklyn Dodgers would go on to win the game 5-3.

I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

An American Legend.

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "MINOR LEAGUES"

Today on the blog we celebrate the next stage in the great Jackie Robinson's sporting career, this time his arrival to Minor League baseball:

He would suit up for one season with the Brooklyn Dodgers' Triple-A team, the Montreal Royals, and he'd give the fans everything he had, with a monster performance that saw him hit .349 over 124 games, scoring 113 runs and stealing 40 bases.

As if he had anything to prove, it was clear the man needed to be center stage in the Majors, so his time in Minor League ball was kept to one season before he made his historic MLB debut the following year, changing the game for good in every sense of the word.

1947 would open up with Jackie charging ahead to a Rookie of the Year Award, followed by an MVP just two seasons later, and onto history, opening up the game to other African-Americans and taking the sport to the next level.

Next card up in this series, his MLB debut!

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "NEGRO LEAGUES"

On the blog today, we move on to the next stage of the great Jackie Robinson's sports career in my 1972 tribute thread, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his MLB debut of 1947.

Today we have his time in the Negro Leagues, playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945:

The road to baseball was still a long way off, as Robinson would put in a military stretch that formed the path that would lead to the sport somewhat by "accident", as he would return to semi-pro football, put time in Samuel Huston College as Athletic Director, then as coach of the school's basketball team, until being contacted by the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues for a tryout after he wrote to the team at the encouragement of a former player that he met while stationed at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky  a year or so earlier.

Well, the young man would NOT disappoint!

All Robinson would do in arguably his fourth best sport was lead the Negro Leagues with 13 doubles and four home runs over 34 games, making the All-Star team, and ending up with a blistering .375 batting average while slugging an even .600 with a .449 on-base-percentage.

Over those 34 games he drove in 27 runs for the Monarchs, while also scoring 25 himself, collecting 45 hits and stealing three bases, giving everyone, especially some Major League scouts and owners, a look at what he could do on a baseball diamond.

Of course, the mindset of many was evolving, and thankfully the game, and our nation was about to change for the better, with Jackie's debut in Major League baseball just two years later, when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed the young man, instantly giving everyone an elite player, but more importantly a new hero.

Up next, a card celebrating the next stage of Robinson's career, which took him North of the border!

Stay tuned...

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS JACKIE ROBINSON

Good day all!

On the blog today, I created a "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks card for the great Jackie Robinson, a card I truly look forward to printing up when I tackle this "extension" set I'm slowly rolling out here on the blog:

Once I can find a printer out there that handles larger trading cards, I'll eagerly have this ten-card set printed and ready to share with you all!

As for the man himself, what needs to be stated at this point regarding his Hall of Fame career?

He broke the color-line, which I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

An American Legend.

1972 25TH ANNIVERSARY JACKIE ROBINSON SPECIAL: "COLLEGE STAR"

Today on the blog I begin a short yet fun 1972 sub-set honoring the 25th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947, celebrating different stages of his great athletic life, beginning with his fantastic college career at UCLA:

More than just a baseball player, Robinson excelled at many sports, and was actually the first in school history to letter in four varsity activities: baseball, basketball, football and track.

In football the Bruins went undefeated in 1939, his first year with the squad, as he led the NCAA in punt return average while also setting the (still) record of 12.2 yards per carry out of the backfield.

In track, he incredibly won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at 24 feet, 10.25 inches, while funny enough, baseball was his "worst" sport, hitting only .097 in his one season.

Shortly after, he left school to work for National Youth Administration before embarking on a semi-pro football career, which was shortened due to the outbreak of World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The road to baseball was still a long way off, as Robinson would put in a military stretch that formed the path that would lead to the sport somewhat by "accident", as he would return to semi-pro football, put time in Samuel Huston College as Athletic Director, then as coach of the school's basketball team, until being contacted by the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues for a tryout after he wrote to the team at the encouragement of a former player that he met while stationed at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky  a year or so earlier.

Next stage, and card in the series, the Negro Leagues.

Stay tuned!

VINTAGE CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1950 DRAKE'S "EXTENDED" SET: JACKIE ROBINSON

Up on the blog today, we add the great Jackie Robinson to me 1950 Drakes "extension set", which was produced and released in deluxe packaging a couple of years ago:

A really fun set to create, I went and added ten stars of the game at that time to the fantastic oddball set that has had my attention since I first laid eyes on it decades ago as a kid.

As for the man himself, what needs to be stated at this point regarding his Hall of Fame career?

He broke the color-line, which I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

NEGRO LEAGUE TO MAJOR LEAGUE STARS: JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today, we add the great Jackie Robinson to my thread celebrating players who made their professional debuts in the Negro Leagues before playing the Majors, of course he being the man who started it all:

Before Robinson made baseball history in 1947 as the first African-American to play in the Majors, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

Garnering interest from a few Major League teams, Robinson eventually signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and spent 1946 in their Minor League system, playing for the Montreal Royals of the International League.

Of course, the rest is history, as Robinson would make his MLB debut in 1947 and immediately make an impact, taking home the Rookie of the Year Ward, while also winning MVP two years later.

Just an incredible man who had the strength that most of us do not possess, to handle all that was thrown at him solely for the color of his skin.

A 1973 "IN MEMORIAM" SPECIAL FOR JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today is a card I have wanted to create for some time, a 1973 "In Memoriam" card for the great Jackie Robinson, after his death on October 24th of 1972:

Granted times have changed a great deal since he passed away, but it would have been nice if Topps would have remembered the trailblazer in 1973, celebrating his life and what he meant to the game.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

What needs to be stated at this point regarding his Hall of Fame career?

He broke the color-line, which I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It's a shame Topps missed this opportunity back in 1973, honoring a man who made it possible for "current" stars like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, et al to come along years later.