Yomiuri Japan News

This special supplement was produced to welcome the 1956 National League Champion Dodgers to Japan for their Goodwill Tour. Jackie Robinson was the first African American player in Major League Baseball when he joined the Dodgers in 1947. Now, reaching the end of his playing career, Robinson was shown on the cover, as baseball fans in Japan were excited to watch him play. Robinson had played for 10 major league seasons, winning a World Championship in 1955, plus NL MVP honors in 1949 and 1947 Rookie of the Year, the award that now bears his name. Robinson and his wife Rachel made the trip to Japan, he played his final games in a Dodger uniform and then Jackie announced his retirement from baseball in January, 1957 to devote his time to business and engage in civil rights. Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and his uniform No. 42 was retired by the Dodgers in 1972. All MLB teams retired No. 42 in 1997.