Jack Roosevelt Robinson earned his spot in Cooperstown in 1962, as part of an Induction class featuring Bob Feller, Bill McKechnie and Edd Roush…Robinson earned election on his first ballot, joining Feller from that year, as the first two first-ballot electees by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America since the inaugural 1936 Hall of Fame vote...Robinson earned votes on 77.5 percent (124 of 160) of all ballots cast. Jackie was, of course, the first African American inducted into the Hall.
Hall of Fame Board Chairman Jane Forbes Clark stated, “When he earned election to the Hall of Fame in 1962, Jackie Robinson totaled a career worthy of inclusion, based on performance alone,” Clark said. “He told baseball writers that when considering his candidacy, they should only consider his playing ability – what his impact was on the playing field. At his induction in 1962, his plaque reflected his wishes – it only recounted his magnificent playing career. But as we all know, there’s no person more central and more important to the history of baseball, for his pioneering ways, than Jackie Robinson. Today, his impact is not fully defined without mention of his extreme courage in crossing baseball’s color line.”
Presented here is an official National League Baseball (Giles) signed during that historic event in Cooperstown in 1962. Thirteen (13) signatures on the ball include; Edd Roush and Bill McKechnie (on SS); Jimmie Foxx (alone on the West Panel); Lefty Grove and Zach Wheat (both on the East Panel); Frank Frisch, Joe DiMaggio, and Bob Feller (on the South Panel); and Bill Terry, Paul Waner, Dizzy Dean, Bill Dickey, and Jackie Robinson (on the North Panel). The creamy ball has some scattered staining-some touching Robinson and Dickey's signatures-otherwise fine with autographs averaging 7/10. Outside of a ball signed at the inaugural induction ceremony in 1939, this is arguably the most coveted and historic HOF induction ball in the hobby.
Full LOA from PSA/DNA and JSA.