Our Sports: 1950s African-American Sports Magazine Edited by Jackie Robinson

Our Sports, “The Great New Negro Sports Magazine,” was published in 1953, and ran for five issues. It featured top African-American sports stars on the cover: Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Minnie Minoso, Satchel Paige, and George Taliaferro, who was the first black football player drafted into the NFL. Jackie Robinson was listed prominently on the cover as the Our Sports editor. Cover lines included “Will There Ever Be  a Big League Negro Manager?” “The Lowdown on How I Cracked Jim Crow Golf” (by Joe Louis), “Are the Yankees Anti-Negro,” and “Let’s Put Satchel Paige in the Hall of Fame.” The young sportswriter Roger Kahn was an advisor to Robinson and contributed stories like “What White Big Leaguers Really Think of Negro Players.”

Cover images and information on Our Sports courtesy of Legendary Auctions.

(Above) Our Sports, May 1953. On the cover: Larry Doby.

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Our Sports, June 1953. On the cover: Monte Irvin.

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Our Sports, July 1953. On the cover: Minnie Minoso.

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Our Sports, August 1953. On the cover: Satchel Paige.

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Our Sports, October-November 1953. On the cover: George Taliaferro.

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Our Sports, June 1953 contents page. Source: Library of Congress.

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Our Sports, July 1953 inside page. Source: Hake’s

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Our Sports, July 1953 inside cover. Source: Hake’s