Lot # 2414: 1949 Jackie Robinson Barnstorming Tour Program

Official program issued for Jackie Robinson's "Major League Barnstorming Tour" in 1949. Beginning in 1946 and continuing through the 1950s, Robinson annually led a group of "all-star" players on a postseason barnstorming tour. Such tours were common at the time because they allowed players to earn extra money during the off-season and also provided fans living in cities without Major League teams the opportunity to see the game's top players in person. Robinson's celebrity status at the time as the first player to break baseball's long-standing color barrier made him the perfect front man for the tour, and the games were well attended at each venue. During the early years, Robinson's barnstorming team toured in Mexico, and the roster featured primarily Negro League players. In later years, as integration progressed, the team included many black Major League stars, including his Dodgers teammates Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. (Campanella also led his own, separate barnstorming tour in the 1950s.) This scarce twelve-page program features a photo of Robinson on the cover. The interior pages include photos and brief biographies of Robinson, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, and Don Newcombe, with photos of those four players displayed on the back cover. The program (8.5 x 10.75 inches) has a clipped lower-right corner on the front cover and a small tear on the left edge of the back cover but otherwise is in Very Good to Excellent condition overall.