Jackie Robinson 's protective Dodgers cap up for auction
Jackie Robinson
When  Jackie Robinson  broke baseball's color barrier in 1947  not only was the color of  his  skin different but so was the cap  he  wore.
In the pre-batting helmet era   Robinson  had to have a specially-made Brooklyn Dodgers cap to "protect  his  head from beanballs â  his  widow  Rachel Robinson  wrote in a 1994 letter.
 Robinson 's cap had three protective plates sewn inside the lining to guard against opposing pitchers who wanted to take our their anger over a black player being in the big leagues.
Jackie Robinson Museum to break ground in Manhattan
âThis is the only cap to this date that I have ever made available to the collecting public â wrote  Rachel Robinson  in the letter shared by Lelands. âThe cap is 100% original and was game worn by  Jackie Robinson  during his career as a Brooklyn Dodger. â
A Jackie Robinson baseball cap that has protective plates  sewn in to protect  his  head from beanballs. (Courtesy of Lelands)
 Robinson  batted .297 with 12 home runs and 29 stolen bases while collecting Rookie of the Year honors in 1947. The six-time All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 and his No. 42 is the retired throughout Major League Baseball.
Granderson honors Jackie Robinson by his actions on and off field
When   [TGT] broke baseball's color barrier in 1947  not only was the color of   [TGT]   skin different but so was the cap   [TGT]   wore.
In the pre-batting helmet era    [TGT] had to have a specially-made Brooklyn Dodgers cap to "protect   [TGT]   head from beanballs â  his  widow   [TGT] wrote in a 1994 letter.
  [TGT]  's cap had three protective plates sewn inside the lining to guard against opposing pitchers who wanted to take our their anger over a black player being in the big leagues.
Jackie Robinson Museum to break ground in Manhattan
âThis is the only cap to this date that I have ever made available to the collecting public â wrote   [TGT] in the letter shared by Lelands. âThe cap is 100% original and was game worn by   [TGT]   during  [TGT]  career as a Brooklyn Dodger. â
 [TGT] sewn in to protect   [TGT]   head from beanballs. (Courtesy of Lelands)
  [TGT] batted .297 with 12 home runs and 29 stolen bases while collecting Rookie of the Year honors in 1947. The six-time All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 and his No. 42 is the retired throughout Major League Baseball.
Granderson honors  [TGT]  by his actions on and off field