Jackie Robinson's first full season in the minor leagues was stellar.  In 553 plate appearances, Robinson batted .349 with a .468 on base percentage, stealing 40 bases and scoring 113 runs. He was exactly the sparkplug Branch Rickey had hoped he would be.  In exhibition games in 1946, Robinson fared will against the Dodgers, and in advance of the 1947 season, Robinson's Montreal Royals would visit Ebbets Field for a two-game series against the Dodgers, who quietly planned for Robinson 's Dodgers debut.

On April 10 and 11, the big New York sports news was the suspension of Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, due to an "accumulation of unpleasant incidents," Bumped to the back pages was the less sensationalistic game result - on April 10, in the 4th inning, in front of an Ebbets Field crowd of 14,282, Jackie Robinson walked and scored a run. During the fifth inning, Branch Rickey's assistant, Arthur Mann, distributed a news release that stated, simply, "The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals." Thus the stage was set for the first Black player to wear a major league uniform to suit up for the first time, in an. April 11 exhibition game against the New York Yankees.

As a member of the 1947 Dodgers, pitcher Clyde King and a front row seat to all this, and had a thorough understanding of the importance of the moment.  The Dodgers won the game, 14-6, and although King did not pitch in the game he had the presence of mind to save a ticket stub - a stub from the first Major League game in which a Black player took the field.  Robinson went hitless in four at bats in the boxscore, but he had two sacrifice flies, a sacrifice bunt (in which he reached on an error), reached on another error, and drove in three for the day, while fielding 15 chances flawlessly at first base.

Up until the discovery of this stub in the collection of Clyde King, just one example of a stub from this game was known to exist - that example sold for $32,000 at auction two years ago.  This newly-discovered example, graded VG-EX 4 by PSA, is sharp and clear, virtually unblemished save for two cancellation punches and some light chipping at the right edge and upper-right corner.  An extremely significant ticket stub, marking the very first day that Jackie Robinson took the field in a major league uniform.