Jackie Robinson made history on the baseball diamond, and now one of his jerseys could do the same on the auction block.
The Hall of Famer’s rare game-worn Dodgers shirt is expected to rake in at least $500,000 in an online auction, according to Lelands.com
Very few Robinson jerseys even exist — and this one wasn’t even known about until the auction opened.
Bidding on the jersey — from 1950 and bearing number 42 — neared $100,000 last night.
It will close on Dec. 21.
“This jersey, in today’s market, is worth a half a millions dollars,” said Joshua Evans, chairman of Lelands.com. “I don’t see any reason why it won’t [reach that price].”
The current owner is a memorabilia collector who will remain anonymous.
Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, shattering baseball’s color barrier blocking non-white players from America’s pastime.
“I couldn’t help thinking about President Obama and how this all relates, how this is part of the same tapestry,” Evans said.
The jersey was authenticated through a number of features unique to that era’s uniforms, including:
* A cursive embroidered “J Robinson 50” on the bottom right matches the style and pattern of the Dodgers’ team seamstress.
* An A.G. Spalding tag, showing the shirt’s size 42, is in the inside collar. It also reminded the wearer that these threads are “Dry Clean Only.”
* A six-inch repair job on the back and one un-repaired hole on the right sleeve.
Players of the era were assigned four jerseys — two home whites and two traveling grays.
“Now we have some guys who put on a new jersey every day,” Evans said.
“There are several small stains (blood?) on the front of the jersey but they do not detract, and actually add character,” Evans’ auction listing reads.