While regarded in the hierarchy of baseball immortality, this day in 2015 saw the Los Angeles Dodgers unveil details of a Jackie Robinson statue that would be installed at Dodger Stadium during the 2017 season.
In addition to countless other in-stadium ventures involving the famed Brooklyn Dodgers hero, the plan centered around the confirmation to commission a statue of Robinson to be built by former Brooklyn resident Branly Cadet.
The statue, which depicts Robinson’s iconic slide while stealing home plate, was the first sculpture of any kind to appear in Chavez Ravine.
It was unveiled in 2017 on the 70th anniversary of him breaking Major League baseball’s color barrier.
Regarded now as a staple piece within Dodger Stadium, manager Dave Roberts has made it a team-wide tradition to visit the statue every year on Jackie Robinson Day.
Especially for Roberts, the first Black manager in Los Angeles’ franchise history, he has understood the importance of stepping-back and appreciating Robinson’s legacy.
“I think it’s not something that I signed up to have a platform to speak about things outside of baseball, but I think as all things evolve, I’ve just seen more and more that people who have platforms aren’t speaking about the right things and there’s way too much negativity and speaking about the wrong things,” Roberts said in 2022.
Sandy Koufax’s statue joins Jackie Robinson
Installed and unveiled this past season, Dodgers Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax received a statue of his own which sits next to Robinson’s. According to Koufax, it is one of his life’s “greatest honors.”
Pitching for the organization in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Koufax’s career totaled an improbable 137 complete games in 314 total starts. In addition to a lifetime 2.76 ERA, he was a part of three World Series teams.
Now, between his and Robinson’s statues, Dodgers fans are forever be greeted into Chavez Ravine by reminders of their baseball and life accomplishments.
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