Seventy-two years ago, on April 14, 1947, Jackie Robinson changed baseball forever by debuting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The momentous occasion is celebrated every year on what is now known as Jackie Robinson Day. Each major league player will don his No. 42 at some point this week as the sport celebrates one of its all-time icons.
Below is a list of SI's best work documenting the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson.
By William Nack
Published May 5, 1997
In the middle of the cool, drizzly afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1947, as the Brooklyn Dodgers led the Philadelphia Phillies 4–3 in the eighth inning, Jackie Robinson ground his spikes into the rain-softened dirt of the batter's box at Ebbets Field, turned to face Phillies reliever Tommy Hughes and waited for Hughes's 3-and-1 cripple.