1948 Leaf #79 Jackie Robinson - PSA 8 | Rookie Card

This is among the highest ever graded examples of the only true rookie card for one of the most important people of the 20th century.

Jackie Robinson’s card from the 1948 Leaf set is the grail for collectors of baseball’s color barrier-breaking hero, an American icon who set the stage for an explosion of talent in the nation’s pastime and served as a figurehead in the coming decades of civil rights activism.

From the time he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie changed the sport of baseball. Paving a way for future all-timers such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, his mark on global sporting culture can often be found in the accomplishments of those in his wake.

Jackie won the 1947 NL Rookie of the Year award and would shortly find himself voted as the senior circuit’s Most Valuable Player two years later. Before walking away from the game for the last time in 1956, he appeared at six MLB All-Star games and led the Dodgers to their first World Series title.

The 1948 Leaf set features numerous Hall of Famers as rookies including Robinson, Warren Spahn, and Stan Musial. The set came to fame for its checklist and was popular at the time as the first color prints to come after World War II. The set is also notoriously condition sensitive: the coarse cardstock that was used quickly reveals wear, and makes it difficult for cards such as the Robinson to reach high grades, adding to the spectacular feat that this copy has achieved.

This card has been authenticated and deemed to be in Near Mint-Mint condition, receiving a grade of 8 from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). This ranks it among the finest ever graded by PSA. At the time of cataloging, less than 10 have been awarded a higher unqualified grade.

The PSA certificate number for this card is: 07033041.

Going Deeper - Jackie Robinson

The only player in baseball to have his number retired league-wide, there is little about Jackie’s stunning talents, glowing personality, and forceful image that has been left unsaid.

His story, mirroring the way in which post-war American society attempted to grapple with change and progress into a nation that could serve all its citizens, transcended sport before he ever stepped out onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

At UCLA, Jackie was an unimaginably decorated athlete as he lettered in four sports that built his robust talents as an athlete. The outbreak of World War II cut short Jackie’s college tenure and budding career on the gridiron, but would strengthen his mental resolve when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.

Robinson would return to baseball following the end of the war and immediately became a standout in the Negro Leagues with the famed Kansas City Monarchs. His outsized achievements, which led to him being named to the East-West All-Star game, attracted the attention of some major league clubs but drew the adoration of Dodgers president Branch Rickey. In a secret back room arrangement, Robinson agreed to sign with the Dodgers organization in October 1945, setting in motion what Rickey would refer to as the “Noble Experiment.”

Fighting through racial injustice as a Dodgers minor leaguer, including at least three Florida towns refusing to permit him to play, Robinson didn’t let his performance on the field suffer. He would finish 1946 as the International League MVP and earn his call to the majors from Branch Rickey the next season.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie became the first Black player to enter a major league game since 1884 and officially broke baseball’s color barrier for good. Of course, the story didn’t end there for Jackie.

Robinson not only survived the racial provocations and violence he faced on the field and from the stands, he thrived in spite of it. Immediately he made his presence felt by winning Rookie of the Year while leading the NL in stolen bases, a signature trait of his electrifying style of play. Starting in 1949, the year he was named National League MVP after batting a league-best .342, Jackie was named to six straight All-Star teams. He also helped to break the Dodgers’ decades-long World Series drought in a dramatic seven-game series victory over the Yankees in 1955, a final triumphant act in his career and in the Dodgers' time in Brooklyn.

A somewhat brief career after debuting at 28 years old, Robinson’s tenure isn’t fully defined by his ten years of service in Brooklyn. As he was leaving the game in the mid 50s, all time greats such as Willie Mays and Hank Aaron followed closely behind on the path that Jackie had laid. 

Nearly 70 years after he walked off the field for the final time, Jackie’s legacy can still be found. In 2020, MLB recognized the Negro Leagues and its participating players as ‘Major League’ and in 2024 officially merged the related stats putting those such as Josh Gibson rightfully atop baseball’s most vaunted statistical leaderboards.