Jackie Robinson: My Own Story

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball superstar and a popular Brooklyn Dodger. The first book about him was Jackie Robinson: My Own Story by Jackie Robinson as told to Wendell Smith (Avon Books, 1949). This digest paperback reprinted the 1948 Greenberg hardcover. The cover price is 25 cents, but the back cover price is 35 cents! Consistency was a problem with some early paperback outfits. The book has a foreword by Branch Rickey and is full of rare black and white photos from Jackie’s life and his historic baseball career.

In this book, the Brooklyn Dodger infielder had given some interesting inside details of his precedent smashing entry into organized baseball. The story, as told to Pittsburgh Courier sports writer Wendell Smith, traces Jackie's athletic fortunes from poverty-ridden childhood in Georgia, through his spectacular scholarship athletic career at the University of California in Los Angeles, on through his year at Montreal and the historic 1947 season with Brooklyn.

Even more collectable and pricey is the Jackie Robinson paperback that appeared one year later and is even more scarce. In 1950 tiny F.J. Low published The Jackie Robinson Story by Arthur Mann. This was published as a tie-in with the popular film of the same title that starred Jackie himself. The book is also a digest-size paperback and is a first edition original that features a great black & white photo of Jackie on the cover.

Jackie Robinson: My Own Story


The Jackie Robinson Story by Arthur Mann	Back Cover

KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES RELATED RESOURCES

	KeyMan Collectibles Baseball Memorabilia Facebook Group - Post Questions and comments relating to Baseball Collectibles and Memorabilia. Interact with other collectors or show off your collection.
	KeyMan Collectibles Forum - A great option for those that "Don't do facebook" Post Questions and comments relating to Baseball Collectibles and Memorabilia