Two years after the end of World War II, baseball also began a new era. Gone was the unspoken but very real segregation of professional baseball. Jackie Robinson was a Brooklyn Dodger and while it would take several more years for the major leagues to be completely integrated, the message was clear: fans would get a chance to see all of the best players.
Our Photo of the Day from RMY Auctions is a historic image taken the day Robinson was handed the 1947 Rookie of the Year award by the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers Association. There was, at the time, just one top rookie award for both leagues.
The 8×10 photo is being offered in the company’s July auction, with bidding set to close Sunday, July 19. It has been graded and encapsulated by PSA/DNA as a Type I photograph.
The back contains the date stamp from the Chicago Daily News of November 13, 1947 and identifies Jack Ryan as the presenter of Robinson’s award.
Jackie’s impact 
during his first major league season was obvious to anyone who saw the Dodgers play. His statistics cemented the observations. He finished at .297 with a .427 slugging percentage, rapped out 175 hits, scored 125 runs and stole 29 bases while enduring regular insults from fans, opposing players and even a manager or two.
Just two seasons later, he led the National League in hitting with a .342 average and had a career-high 124 RBI while swiping 37 bases.
The Dodgers won six pennants during Robinson’s 10 seasons in Brooklyn.
The photo is one of more than 300 images from sports, news, entertainment and other subjects at RMYAuctions.com.
