Who was the first baseball player to have his image on a US postage stamp?

In the 1940's there were two major professional baseball leagues, the MLB and what was known as the "Negro Major Leagues". The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans.

Some of the more renowned names from the Negro League were Roy Campanella, Connie Johnson, Willie Mays, Don Newcombe, Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige and, of course, Jackie Robinson.

While all the players listed above eventually made it to the MLB, when the Brooklyn Dodgers started Robinson at first base on April 15, 1947 they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball.

The United States Post Office issued its first stamp all the way back in 1847. Until August 2, 1982 no baseball player had ever graced the front of a stamp. On the day Jackie Robinson became the first.

The image selected for the stamp was Jackie sliding into home plate as one of many times he stole home.