The original consignor of this Brooklyn Dodgers relic first called our offices in 2010 to inform us that he had a cap that was onceworn by the great Jackie Robinson. He acquired it decades ago froman old friend who had owned the treasured keepsake since he obtained ithimself in the seats behind the Dodgers dugout at Ebbets Field uponJackie Robinson removing it from his head and casting it into the crowd.The cap was later bestowed upon our consignor with this verbalhistory as a means to settle a debt incurred by his friend. As withmany such stories they must be taken with a grain of salt howeverwhen the cap arrived at our offices we were taken aback by itscompelling physical traits.

The professional model cap unquestionablymanufactured for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the late 1940’s features itsoriginal Rawlings tag at the back of the well-worn leather interiorband. A number “42” is written in black marker under the bill which hasturned brittle and cracked substantially. The cap's most distinguishingfeature is two “half moon” shaped hard shell inserts at the temples. Theinserts are sewn in with blue satin fabric and buffered by smallcircular pads that can be felt inside.

It is well documented inphotographs (including one shown here) that Jackie Robinson wore custom capswith these protective inserts during his tumultuous early seasons asMLB's first African-American player. One specificexample with such inserts originated from Jackie’s widow RachelRobinson who sold the cap to a prominent private collector. Otherplayers were known to wear such protective inserts as well during theera but this feature narrows the probability to a significant degree.The cap is well worn and remains in original unaltered condition.

Aletter of provenance is included from the initial consignor recounting theaforementioned story that attributes this cap to Jackie Robinson.