1951 Jackie Robinson Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Jersey with 1950 Pants, MEARS A10 & SGC Superior!...

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The greatest season in Big Apple baseball history!

1951 Jackie Robinson Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Jersey with 1950 Pants, MEARS A10 & SGC Superior! As Bobby Thomson rounded the bases at the Polo Grounds in the last moments of the Brooklyn Dodgers' 1951 season, Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully noticed that Jackie Robinson was closely watching the circumnavigation while his dejected teammates began to trudge toward the dugout, just in case the jubilant Giant might miss a base. That's "how much of a competitor Robinson was," Scully later recalled of that lonely sentinel. While that "Shot Heard 'round the World" still stands as the most famous home run in Major League history, it was Robinson himself who had authored the most dramatic four-bagger of the 1951 season until that moment just three days earlier.

Few recall today just how close that iconic Thomson home run came to never happening, as the Giants and Dodgers entered the 154th game of the 1951 National League season on September 30th deadlocked at ninety-seven victories. As the Dodgers watched the scoreboard at Shibe Park report that the Giants were expanding their lead over the Boston Braves, they quickly fell into a demoralizing five-run deficit to the Phillies in the must-win contest. But with the help of an RBI triple from Robinson, the Bums would rally and knot the contest at eight runs apiece in the late innings. After four scoreless extra frames, Robinson would get hold of a two-out offering from fellow future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts in the top of the fourteenth to record the last run of a miraculous 9-8 comeback victory, necessitating the legendary three-game playoff against their crosstown rivals.

While the Dodgers would ultimately die by the home run sword that had given them life, the 1951 season will always be considered by many historians as the pinnacle year of New York baseball. All three teams played in October, and two of the greatest players in history--Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays--made their Big League debuts, as another Gotham legend by the name of Joe DiMaggio closed out his storied career with a World Championship to mark the midpoint of an unequalled five-peat. Hollywood couldn't have dreamed up a more compelling storyline.

Presented is a monumentally significant home white flannel jersey worn at Ebbets Field by the bravest man in professional baseball history during a campaign commonly considered to be Robinson's second-finest after his 1949 MVP season. At thirty-two years old, Robinson was still in his gilded prime, batting .338 with nineteen home runs, eighty-eight RBI's and twenty-five stolen bases. He'd lead the National League with double-plays (137) at second base and finish sixth in MVP balloting.

This distinctive uniform style represents the end of an era for the Dodgers, who would pioneer the use of red obverse jersey numbers in 1952. The blue script "Dodgers" across the chest is the timeless design feature that endures to present day, while the 75th National League Anniversary patch at the short-cropped left sleeve ranks among the most celebrated in Major League uniform history. And, of course, the number "42" on verso has been properly sanctified as the only one retired across the entirety of the league. Interior collar holds "Rawlings St. Louis [size] 42" labeling with a "Dry Clean Only" secondary label, and "Robinson Jack 51" is artfully embroidered in blue directly into lower left front tail.

Remarkably, this jersey is accompanied by a pair of uniform pants likewise worn by the renowned barrier buster, worn a season earlier as Robinson was enjoying his reign as defending National League MVP. Like the jersey, the garment is tagged, "Rawlings St. Louis," that interior waistband label flanked by a "Dry Clean Only" and size "38" secondary tag. An embroidered swatch above reports, "J Robinson 50."

The experts at both MEARS and SGC assign their highest possible ratings to this colossally important ensemble, affirming 100% original and unaltered condition and strong, consistent game wear. A third letter, from the folks at Resolution Photomatching, reports two potential photo matches, but the simplicity of the jersey design and the relative lack of detail of vintage photography restricts them from making any definitive claims. It must be stressed that they consider the uniformity (no pun intended) of the jersey design to be the complicating factor here, as the images they reference appear to be fully consistent with the subject garment.

Overstating the significance of this uniform would be a virtual impossibility, as it is emblematic of an essential figure in Civil Rights history, a golden age of New York City baseball, and one of the most thrilling vintages of the professional game. Few offerings from our twenty years of service to the sports collectibles community could measure up to this one, an absolute treasure of baseball and American history. LOA from MEARS, A10. LOA from SGC, Superior. LOA from Resolution Photomatching. LOA from Heritage Auctions.