Jackie robinson day
Jackie Robinson Day is April 15 in Major League Baseball. It marks his 1947 debut. It is not a U.S. federal holiday, and banks stay open.
How it works
On 15 April 1947, Jackie Robinson played first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, the first Black player in the modern major leagues. Opening Day that season fell on that date. He went 0-for-3, reached on an error, and scored the winning run in a 5–3 victory over the Boston Braves. MLB now keeps April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day at ballparks that have games.
The league-wide day began in 2004. In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of the debut, MLB retired Robinson’s number 42 across the majors. Since 2009, players, managers, coaches, and umpires wear 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. On that date the roster looks identical by design. It is a baseball memorial on a workday calendar, not a civic close.
From Thursday, 3 September 2026, Wednesday 15 April 2026 has already passed. The next Jackie Robinson Day is Thursday, 15 April 2027. April 15 does not move to a Monday. If it falls on an off-day on a club’s schedule, the league still names the date; game ceremonies follow the games that exist.
Number 42, and what the day is not
42 is the only uniform number retired throughout MLB. Other clubs may retire other numbers of their own. They do not un-retire 42 on April 16. The one-day wearing of 42 is a scheduled exception for the memorial, not a change to the retirement.
The day is not Opening Day in later seasons. Opening Day moves. April 15 does not, for this purpose. It is not a public school holiday. It is not Juneteenth, not Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and not a substitute for those civic dates. You can watch a game on April 15 and still go to work in the morning.
Date: 15 April every year. Next: Thursday, 15 April 2027. On the field: 42 worn league-wide on that memorial since 2009. Off the field: ordinary civic hours. When everyone wears 42, the scorecard is supposed to be hard to read. That is the tribute, not a filing error.
How to mark it if you are not at the park
A broadcast, a museum visit, or a conversation about the 1947 season is a complete observance. The Jackie Robinson Museum in New York keeps the history; the Jackie Robinson Foundation continues scholarship work he set in motion. Neither is a ticket to that night’s game. If you wanted a countdown to April 15, use the calendar. If you wanted a federal Monday off, this is the wrong day.
Southern Hemisphere autumn is not in play here: the memorial is a U.S. baseball date in northern spring. Meteorological spring in the north is March, April, and May. April 15 sits inside that stretch, in the early weeks of the MLB season, which is why the uniform tribute can happen in live games.
Questions and answers
- When is Jackie Robinson Day?
- 15 April every year. The next one after September 2026 is 15 April 2027. It does not slide to a Monday.
- Why do players wear 42?
- That was Robinson’s number. MLB retired it league-wide in 1997. Since 2009, on-field personnel wear 42 on this date as a tribute.
- Is it a federal holiday?
- No. Government offices and banks follow the ordinary April weekday. The memorial is a baseball observance.
Related guides
10 year anniversary
A 10 year anniversary is the same month and day ten civil years after the original date. If that day does not exist in the later year, pick 28 February or 1 March and say which.
10000 days
10,000 days is a little more than 27 years: 27 × 365 = 9,855 days, so 145 days remain if you ignore leap days.
107 days
107 days is a span of 107 midnights on the civil calendar: 15 weeks and 2 days. From Thursday 3 September 2026 that span ends on Saturday 19 December 2026.