1947 Dodgers Proposed Historical Jackie Robinson National League Rookie Contract – To Break Baseballs Color Barrier Signed By Dodgers President Branch Rickey – Plus Original 1947 Jackie Robinson Rookie Baseball!
Details:
Jackie Robinson’s signing by the Brooklyn Dodgers ushered in not only baseball’s most competitive era, but was the first strike in the fight for African-American’s Civil Rights. What this document represents is the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. 9 years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 17 years before Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech in Washington and 18 years before Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, Jackie Robinson integrated baseball, and this contract started it. To say Jackie Robinson was the right man for the job would be an understatement.
The Incredible Contract:
This Historic Original February, 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers Proposed contract to Jackie Robinson is a standard Uniform Player’s Contract. Jackie’s address is listed as “1588 W. 36th Pl. Los Angeles, Calif.” and Dodgers President, Branch Rickey Signed it in black fountain pen. As a working initial proposed document, the contract has experienced some expected wear with overall golden tone, and the two pages were placed together to present a better overall display. The contract was meant to be folded, and this piece shows the two horizontal folds, none affecting the bold Signature.
Historical Significance:
Before his number was retired throughout all of baseball, before he became an American legend and before he stepped between the lines of a baseball diamond for the first time, breaking the sport's color barrier, Jackie Robinson had to do something all ballplayers do before they can play the game: sign his big league contract.
That historic deal made him the first black player in the Major Leagues, but first came this initial contract Robinson was offered by the Brooklyn Dodgers two months earlier. This proposed contract was Signed by Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey in February of 1947, and later in April of 1947, Jackie Robinson Signed the Revised Official Rookie Contract to play with the Dodgers.
An interesting Side Note:
The Contract that Robinson later Signed - Two Months after this one was re-submitted for Revised Terms – was appraised in 2019for $36 MILLION Dollars.
This Document is one of the most important baseball items that ever existed. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'I didn't start the Civil Rights Movement, Jackie Robinson did.' This document is one of the founding documents of the Civil Rights Movement.
While the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that “all men are created equal," this Jackie Robinson contract is the actual embodiment of that sentiment, put into action more than 170 years after Thomas Jefferson penned those words. This 1947 contract represents not only the very beginning of baseball’s transformation, but the starting point of America’s transformation into a more inclusive and just society as well. When it comes to significant Civil Rights documents, and different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement, this Robinson contract is as much of an historical artifact that has played as significant a part in our nation’s history as the Declaration of Independence.
The Jackie Robinson Rookie Baseball Card:
The Contract comes complete with an original 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson Rookie Card in Excellent Condition, all in a custom frame sized Approx: 16x30.
Provenance:
This contract has been inspected and authenticated by World Renown Third Party Authenticators; Beckett Authentication.