The Kansas City Royals will honor the Negro Leagues and the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, Aug. 13, at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals will wear 1945 Kansas City Monarchs home uniforms, and the Dodgers will sport the 1955 Brooklyn road uniforms. Both jerseys were worn by Robinson during his time with the Monarchs (1945) and Dodgers (1947-56).
Starting that day, game-used jerseys, hats, batting helmets and more will be auctioned off at royals.com/auction and dodgers.com/auction. All uniform auction proceeds will directly benefit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
The Dodgers plan to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum during their stop in Kansas City, which is the first leg of a seven-game road trip.
MLB previously celebrated the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier on April 15, when players, managers and coaches wore his iconic number No. 42 in Dodger Blue for the first time in history.
What’s more, 42 patches with team-specific uniform colors appeared on Nike uniform sleeves and on New Era caps.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and David Price were among those who donated their full or partial game-day salary to the Players Alliance, a non-profit started by active and retired professional baseball players.
Roberts led Dodgers to Robinson statue on Jackie Robinson Day
Last season manager Dave Roberts began a Dodgers tradition of gathering the team, front office members and other personnel in front of the Jackie Robinson statue in the center field plaza of Dodger Stadium to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day.
Roberts led another contingent this year, and they were joined by Jackie’s son, David Robinson, and Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars.
Roberts briefly addressed the group before turning the floor over to David. He highlighted Jackie’s plight and everlasting legacy, while also calling for continued work toward reaching equality.
More must-reads: