Summer Live and Premium 2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/2/2018
No man who ever stepped foot on a baseball field carried more expectations or faced more animosity than Jackie Robinson. With the odds stacked up against him, Jackie's spectacular 1947 rookie season forever shattered the color line in baseball and in turn helped usher in the Civil Rights Movement. He was 1947's Rookie of the Year and then the National League's MVP in 1949. His fire and drive propelled the Brooklyn Dodgers to six pennants and one World Championship and inspired a whole generation of young ballplayers, both black and white.
The awesome weight Jackie carried on his shoulders by breaking the color barrier directly contributed to his early death in 1972. As such, single-signed balls are scarce, this one being one of the more visually appealing and all the more desirable as it is on this Official Appalachian League Chauncey DeVault baseball. This MacGregor manufactured baseball has been signed on the side panel in bright and bold blue ballpoint pen by Jackie Robinson himself and inscribed "Best Wishes” and “hope 64”. The signature displays perfectly on this slightly toned ball, which displays some signs of age, but is in good condition. This item comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA (AD09778), who have graded this ball a MINT 9 for the signature and a LOA from JSA (Z81785).