Jackie Robinson’s first year in the majors wasn’t just a turning point for racial history. It was also the first season that Major League Baseball players wore button-up rather than zip-up shirts.

That was just one of many considerations for Sports Studio Ventures of Torrance, a prop house with sports expertise that was called upon to make custom uniforms for the Robinson biographical film “42,” which will be released this week by Warner Bros.

The main concern was making the jerseys look authentic to the period and teams, said Mark Koesterer, chief executive of the 20-employee company. That meant sourcing materials from as far as China to create the wool jerseys, black leather spikes and baggy pants, which were then assembled in a downtown L.A. facility.

In all, provisions were made for about 750 uniforms to outfit eight teams – most importantly, Robinson’s Brooklyn Dodgers.

The producer of the movie, Legendary Pictures, spent more than $200,000 on the uniforms alone.

That was partly because of the harsh conditions on set. The film was shot in Georgia and Tennessee last summer. Frequent wardrobe changes were needed as actors slid into bases on red clay infields and sweated heavily in the wool getups.

That wasn’t exactly a surprise for Sports Studio, which is paid by the number of uniforms it provides and has worked on previous baseball releases such as “Field of Dreams” and “The Natural.”

“That’s part of the cost of doing a period film,” Koesterer said, “especially a sports film.”

– Jonathan Polakoff