Steiner Sports says a Jackie Robinson glove worn during the final three years of his career is coming to auction next month. The New Rochelle, NY sports memorabilia company says the glove was worn from 1954-56 and saw action during the Brooklyn Dodgers’ lone World Series victory in 1955 and during their return trip in 1956. Said to be originally discovered in New York, tucked away in a garage and wrapped in plastic, the glove was consigned along with a game-used Robinson bat that will also be sold by Steiner in an auction set to begin May 1.
No other Robinson gloves have ever been offered at auction before and Steiner Executive Vice President Brett Schissler told Sports Collectors Daily he believes the glove could sell for between $750,000 and $1 million.
Robinson retired following the 1956 season after a pioneering career as the game’s first African-American player who became a Hall of Fame second baseman.
Schissler says the consignor’s family had owned a New York City building in which Robinson rented an office. The glove, bat and game-worn caps have been kept in the same family for many years. Robinson died following a heart attack in 1972 at age 53.
Noted expert Dennis Esken researched the glove and wrote that the Rawlings BD model has been photo-matched to images 
of Robinson wearing it. The wrist strap carries the number 42 written in black marker, presumably in Robinson’s hand.
The glove shows extensive wear and aging which Esken has attributed to years of use.
Some restoration has been done to “preserve the historical significance of this historic relic,” according to Steiner which included cleaning and re-attaching the web which had separated from the main part of the glove.
The circa 1956 Robinson bat was authenticated by PSA’s John Taube and Vince Malta and graded PSA GU 9. A letter of authenticity states the bat matches records of Robinson’s Louisville Slugger orders and even carries streaks of paint from the bat rack in the Dodger dugout at Ebbets Field.
The timing of the auction coincides with the release of a new movie about Robinson’s life called 42, which is being released nationwide this month.
[…] the career of the immortal Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson – a newly-discovered, authentic game-worn baseball glove used during both the 1955 and ’56 World Series (his final season) – will go on the auction block May 1 through June […]