Jackie Robinson Awarded Brooklyn Key On 100th Birthday

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- It's Jackie Robinson Day in Brooklyn. The beloved Brooklyn Dodgers star was honored Thursday, on the 100th anniversary of his birthday, with a posthumously granted key to the borough, officials announced.

Robinson's granddaughter Sonya Pankey, the Brooklyn Cyclones, students from Crown Heights' P.S. 375 Jackie Robinson and elected officials gathered at Brooklyn Borough Hall Thursday morning to celebrate Robinson's legacy and grant him the "Key to Brooklyn."

Jan. 31 was officially designated Jackie Robinson Day in Brooklyn to honor the baseball player born 100 years ago in 1919, according to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Robinson will also be honored across New York City with a series of never-before-seen photos that will run in LinkNYC kiosks during Black History month, from Jan. 31 until Feb 28, officials said.

“Robinson’s trailblazing years as a Brooklyn Dodger captivated the country and these photographs offer an intimate glimpse of a defining period in American sports history," said Museum of the City of New York director Whitney Donhauser.

“We are honored to partner with the Jackie Robinson Foundation in celebrating the legacy of this true American icon."

Robinson first made history when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and became the first African American to play Major League Baseball.

His talent on the ball field earned Robinson the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 and a World Series victory for the Dodgers in 1955.

Find out more about the exhibit on the Museum of the City of New York website.

Look Magazine photos courtesy of LinkNYC, DoITT, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation