Jackie Robinson Funeral Program Celebrates His Life and Legacy

[JACKIE ROBINSON] Typed Funeral Program, October 27, 1972, New York, NY, 8 pp., 5.5" x 8.5". Expected folds; some stains, not affecting text.

Outstanding athlete Jackie Robinson, who first successfully integrated Major League Baseball in 1947, died on October 23, 1972, at the age of 53.

This funeral program details Robinson’s funeral at the Riverside Church in New York City. The Rev. Dr. Ernest T. Campbell presided over the funeral, which included a hymn, messages from Scripture, prayer, a musical tribute, a eulogy by Rev. Jesse Jackson, and a closing Negro spiritual, performed by Roberta Flack.

Fellow athletes such as basketball player Bill Russell and baseball players Larry Doby (second African American player in the Major Leagues), Monte Irvin, Jim Gilliam, Don Newcombe, Ralph Branca, and Pee Wee Reese served as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers included Willie Mays, Joe Louis, Nelson Rockefeller, Willie Stargell, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and Roy Wilkins.

Excerpts:

“He, like the mythical great Greek Gods, had his Achilles heel through no fault of his own; he had to bear the burden of all black men. When he ran, he had to run for all blacks, thus for all humanity; when he hit the ball, it was for all the poor; he caught for all the dispossessed. He played the game for all the downtrodden; he went to bat for all the neglected and his home runs were for all mankind, his victories were for all humanity.”

“we who knew him loved him and those who were deprived of personal contact are enriched by the legacy he left: enough of himself – a heritage to all, old, young, rich, poor, black, brown, yellow, white; Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Jew – for he was a man of the world – a gift to the people – a hope to the ‘least of these,’ a blessing to the human race.”

“The world is far better for his presence, our lives greatly enriched through his friendship, he is deeply embedded in our hearts and indelibly etched in our minds.”

Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson (1919-1972) was born in Georgia and when his father left in 1920, his mother moved the family to California. In high school, Robinson played football, basketball, track, baseball, and tennis. He attended Pasadena Junior College and continued playing in several sports. After graduation in 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the first black athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. He left college in 1941, just before graduating. Drafted in 1942, Robinson eventually entered officer candidate school and received a commission as a second lieutenant. Arrested for insubordination to racist officers, Robinson was acquitted in the court martial before an all-white panel of officers. After an honorable discharge in 1944, Robinson played baseball in the Negro leagues in 1945, where he drew the attention of major-league baseball. He played with the minor-league Montreal Royals in 1946, and the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson retired in 1957, and served as vice president for personnel at Chock Full O’Nuts coffee from 1957 to 1964. He later helped found a bank and a construction company. He supported the Vietnam War, and one of his sons was wounded in service in 1965. Robinson broke with Republicans, when they nominated Barry Goldwater for president in 1964.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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