Poll: Leaf Jackie Robinson Rookie vs Bonds Bread Rookie

[packs]

Bond Bread for me. It will one day take its proper place in the hobby as one of the most historically significant cards in the hobby. The very first to feature Jackie in a major league uniform:

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by packs

Bond Bread for me. It will one day take its proper place in the hobby as one of the most historically significant cards in the hobby. The very first to feature Jackie in a major league uniform:

I definitely prefer the Bond, but for me the uniform doesn't matter. There are some pretty big names (e.g., Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson) who are not sporting MLB uniforms on their rookie cards.

[packs]

Sure but what relation do they have to Robinson breaking the color barrier? It does matter that he’s pictured in his major league uniform that is the basis for his place in history.

[darwinbulldog]

Okay, good point. I do wonder if, some day in the future, everyone will just accept that Jackie played his first MLB game for the 1945 KC Monarchs and this could detract from the perceived importance of his breaking the National League color barrier, but my guess is that's pretty unlikely, at least in the next 100 years.

[packs]

I'm not sure there's really a basis for that kind of revisionist history. Robinson would not have been the first player to wear a Negro League uniform, for example. Breaking the color barrier wasn't solely a baseball event. It reverberated throughout every facet of society.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Okay, good point. I do wonder if, some day in the future, everyone will just accept that Jackie played his first MLB game for the 1945 KC Monarchs and this could detract from the perceived importance of his breaking the National League color barrier, but my guess is that's pretty unlikely, at least in the next 100 years.

My guess is no. The fact that NL stats are recognized as MLB stats compensates for a wrong to a small degree but doesn't wipe out the wrong itself. I mean, if I run you over and break your leg and you get a payout from my insurance, that doesn't negate the broken leg, just compensates you for suffering it. We don't say your leg wasn't broken. Robinson was the first black player in MLB. Period. Full stop. End of discussion. Nothing can alter that fact.

[investinrookies]

surprised the bond bread didnt get more votes....much harder to find and many things going for it.

[DeanH3]

It's tough to get entrenched perceptions to change. The Leaf Jackie is a great card. No disrespect to it. For me, there has been too much information discovered, through tremendous research, to deny that this is his first card. But to each their own in the end.