MLB’s Jackie Robinson Day Caps, Jerseys, and More for ’24

Major League Baseball will once again celebrate Jackie Robinson’s life and legacy this year with the annual Jackie Robinson Day on Monday, April 15.

As is tradition, every Major League player, coach, and manager will wear Robinson’s retired #42 in-game on Monday. Regardless of the team’s colours or uniform styles, all 30 teams will wear a royal blue block-style #42 on the back of the jersey, mimicking the style worn by Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

All teams will also wear special Jackie Robinson #42 patches on the side of their caps — this patch shows Robinson’s 42 in blue on a white home plate with his signature above and the MLB logo below. This patch is trimmed in gold and will be worn on the right side of each player, manager, coach, and umpire’s cap on April 15th.

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During batting practice, players will wear Nike Breaking Barriers t-shirts, and games will feature commemorative base jewels and lineup cards. Additionally, Stance socks adorned with the “42” logo will be worn, and various Jackie Robinson products will be available for purchase at retail outlets.

***All jerseys will feature a “Dodger Blue” style #42 regardless of the usual team colours***

Major League Baseball will also collaborate with Foster Love to host a volunteer event at the Jackie Robinson Museum. MLB Central Office employees will volunteer to assemble superhero-themed gift boxes and “sweet cases,” which will be donated later that day to children at a nearby foster care agency. Foster Love aims to improve the lives of foster care children by offering these volunteer opportunities and raising awareness, providing the children with comfort and a touch of normalcy during challenging times.

Jackie Robinson shattered racial barriers in Major League Baseball as the first African American player in the modern era when he suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Over his decade-long career in MLB, Robinson accomplished several feats: winning the first-ever Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, being selected as an All-Star for six years running from 1949 to 1954, and being the first African American to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949. Robinson appeared in six World Series, contributing significantly to the Dodgers’ 1955 championship win. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

In a groundbreaking honour, MLB retired Robinson’s number 42 across all teams in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of his debut, making him the first athlete in any sport to receive such recognition. The first annual “Jackie Robinson Day” was held on April 15, 2004. The tradition of players wearing Robinson’s number 42 began in 2007 when Ken Griffey Jr. requested to wear the number for the day; by 2009, every Major League player was wearing #42 annually on April 15th.

In 2022, for the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut, Major League Baseball unveiled a new logo showing Jackie in a batting stance on a blue and bronze rectangle, his retired number 42 in red prominently on the front of his Brooklyn Dodgers home white uniform with a blue cap and belt.

“When this first comes across your desk, it’s like, ‘Oh wow, this is going to be a moment in history,'” recalled Jason Yeadon, Major League Baseball’s Creative Director of Brand Design, in a call with SportsLogos.Net in 2022. “It’s so important for baseball; you don’t want to go outside the box so much, yet you want it to pay homage to Jackie and the history of this important moment.”

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Yeadon teamed up with Todd Radom, designer of the 50th anniversary logo, and Britt Davis, an Atlanta-based sports designer who, as Yeadon noted during our call, did her senior thesis on the Negro Leagues. Of course, another essential collaborator on the design was the Robinson family, with whom the league consults regularly on projects involving the Jackie Robinson name.

Much more on the Jackie Robinson Day logo here, including my interview with the league on its development.