MLB History: Top Five Players to Wear Number 42
As most baseball fans know, April 15, 1947 is a special day in MLB history. It’s the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
While the number he wore, number 42, has always been special and acknowledged throughout the Majors Leagues, especially since Jackie Robinson’s induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, the day has only been celebrated since 2004.
In 2004, Commissioner Bud Selig and Robinson’s daughter Sharon made the announcement that all 13 ballparks having games that day would have festivities to honor Robinson.
"“I have often stated that baseball’s proudest moment and its most powerful social statement came on April 15, 1947 when Jackie Robinson first set foot on a Major League Baseball field”, said Selig. “On that day, Jackie brought down the color barrier and ushered in the era in which baseball became the true national pastime. Fifty years after that historic event, in April 1997, I was proud to join Rachel Robinson and President Bill Clinton at Shea Stadium to honor Jackie by retiring his uniform number 42 in perpetuity. By establishing April 15 as ‘Jackie Robinson Day’ throughout Major League Baseball, we are further ensuring that the incredible contributions and sacrifices he made — for baseball and society — will not be forgotten."
On the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s MLB debut, it was Ken Griffey Jr. who was the first player to wear the number 42 in his game that day, something he got permission to do from Commission Selig.
The sentiment grew to more players wearing number 42 each year and entire teams began to follow suit.
Today, all uniformed coaches, players and umpires all wear number 42 every year on April 15.
This year we are going to take a look at the top five players, other than Robinson, who once wore the number 42 either before the celebration began or who did at the time, and were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their number until their retirement from the game.