Jackie Robinson in Cuba, 1947

Jackie Robinson Photo Gallery
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Jackie Robinson in Cuba, 1947

As is well known, we can never get enough of Jackie Robinson here at Old Time Baseball Photos. So here’s a real neat photo of Jackie I found recently. It was taken on March 7, 1947 in Havana, Cuba, shortly before Jackie broke the color line in the major leagues.  Jackie’s reception in Cuba is starkly different than the reception he received at home, as is evident by the exuberance of the fans.

 Here’s a few excerpts from a tribute to Jackie Robinson that I wrote last February at the end of our annual “Salute to the Negro Leagues.”

 Tribute to Jackie Robinson

 With the end of February, our “Month-Long Salute to the Negro Leagues” is coming to an end. It’s been a wonderful, eye-opening experience for us and we hope you feel the same. Our goal was to at least impart some familiarity with the many over-looked and under-appreciated ball players of the Negro Leagues who were willing to endure unimaginable hardships and indignities so that they could play the game they loved.

As wonderful as the Jackie Robinson accomplishment was, it did not come without its bittersweet side. Deep down, everyone — players, owners, fans — knew that it sounded the death knoll for the Negro Leagues, a beloved institution that was a huge part of the African-American experience in America, and had meant so much to so many. And as anticipated, the Negro Leagues were gone forever within a few years.

It’s only fitting to end the “Salute” with a photo gallery tribute to Jackie Robinson. Be sure to see the wonderful photo of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey from later in their lives.  — the two men whose courage, foresight, and uncompromising determination to right a grave moral injustice, finally opened the major league door to many long-deserving ball players. We owe both of them an incredible debt of gratitude. The photo is from July 20, 1962. The caption reads: “It was taken three days before Jackie was inducted into the Hall of Fame and seventeen years after they shocked the baseball world with the announcement that Jackie had signed a contract to pay for the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team in Montreal.”

“Shocked the baseball world,” indeed.  And, as we know, the baseball world was in dire need of “shock treatment!”

May God Bless both of them.

Gary Livacari

Photo of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey and caption from “The Negro Baseball Leagues,’ by Phil Dixon; all others from public domain