New Jackie Robinson baseball card notes historic moment

You might have noticed a different approach to the newest card in a regularly appearing series from Topps.

Instead of using a pair of on-field images, the new Jackie Robinson 2021 Topps Game Within The Game card from artist Paul Jennis carries a historic twist. It uses the moment where Robinson shakes the hand of Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey after signing his contract with the team in 1945 -- his first step in forever changing MLB.

“I wanted to get Branch Rickey onto the card at the start of my planning process, but when he didn’t fit on the vertical painting, I thought it would still be impactful to get his hand into the final painting,” Jennis said. “Art is about symbolism. I can think of nothing more appropriate at this time in our nation’s history – with daily reminders that race is still an issue – of the image of Branch shaking Jackie’s hand nearly 75 years ago. Life is all about making the world better and lifting each other up, and that’s what the Dodgers did with their courageous act to sign Jackie to a contract as the first African-American player in the Major Leagues.”

The cards in this series are printed to order after the print window closes and are $7.99 apiece via Topps.com with quantity discounts available (as low as $74.99 for 20 cards). The 10-by-14 prints (/99) and a 1/1 Gold version sold out on Friday when these launched.

This is the eighth card in this year's set with past players including past and present stars such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Babe Ruth, Juan Soto, Roberto Clemente, Mookie Betts, Don Mattingly and Ke'Bryan Hayes arriving after a dozen pieces in the series last year. The record-high seller for either series was the Mike Trout card that sold 6,661 copies to finish off last year's slate.

Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947, hitting .297 with 12 home runs and 48 RBI along with a league-high 29 stolen bases as he ran to Rookie of the Year honors and finished fifth in the MVP vote. In all, he played 10 years for the Dodgers, winning an MVP award, a World Series ring, earning six All-Star nods and was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1962.

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