World Series Commemoration

On October 15, 1972, Jackie Robinson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the second game of the World Series commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his becoming the first African-American to play in modern Major League Baseball.  His Major League career began in earnest on April 15, 1947, when played in his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Following his retirement from baseball, Robinson worked as vice president for personnel at Chock Full O' Nuts from 1957 to 1964. He was also active with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In December 1956, the NAACP had recognized Robinson with the Spingarn Medal, which it awards annually for the highest achievement by an African American. Robinson chaired the NAACP's million-dollar Freedom Fund Drive in 1957 and was a member of the board of directors until 1967.

Many other groups also honored Robinson. In July 1962, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held a testimonial dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Although SCLC president Martin Luther King was not able to attend, King's speech recognized the positive impact of Robinson's achievements beyond baseball.

Cover and selected pages
from program for Southern Christian Leadership Conference Hall of Fame dinner honoring Jackie Robinson, July 20, 1962, Waldorf-Astoria, New York City.
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Arthur Mann Papers. Reproduced with permission from the SCLC.
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s

When Robinson stepped onto the field in 1972, it was his second appearance at a Major League Baseball game since ending a self-imposed boycott of baseball which he had begun in protest of the sport's poor record in hiring minorities for managerial and front-office positions.

Back Cover of Jackie Robinson Comic Book,
July 1951.
Robinson as a Dodger: 1947-1956,
Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson,
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s

In a televised interview prior to the game, Robinson expressed his pleasure in being at the game, but added, "I'd like to live to see a black manager. I'd like to live to see the day when there's a black man coaching at third base."

Sadly, he did not live to see it happen. Nine days later, on October 24, 1972, Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 53 years old. The first black baseball manager, Frank Robinson, was hired in 1975 by the Cleveland Indians.

Discover more about Jackie Robinson and other baseball greats in American Memory:

• The collection Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s draws on manuscripts, books, photographs, and ephemera from the Library's collections which tell Robinson's story and the story of the history of the sport. View the special presentation Jackie Robinson and Baseball's Color Line, 1860s-1960s to see these artifacts of America's national pastime. See the collection's annotated bibliography to read more about Jackie Robinson's life and this era of baseball.
• See the special presentation Early Baseball Pictures, 1860s-1920s in the collection Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s to find pictures and stories of the game.
• Browse the American Memory collection Baseball Cards, 1887-1914 to see baseball greats pictured in this collection of 2100 early baseball cards.
• Search across the American Memory collections on baseball to find more images and stories about the great American pastime. See, for example, the photograph The Brooklyn Baseball Club 1913 in the collection Taking the Long View, 1851-1991.
• Search the Today in History Archive on baseball for features on legendary players in baseball history such as Cy Young, Satchel Paige, and Connie Mack and on other important baseball events such as the first World Series.

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