Take in the glory of the new Jackie Robinson statue at Rose Bowl Stadium
You know all about Jackie Robinson's indelible impact on the game of baseball, but did you know that he was also an accomplished college football player? Robinson played at Pasadena Junior College and then lettered in the sport (and three other sports) at UCLA. As a senior in 1940, he led the Bruins in rushing (383 yards), passing (444 yards), total offense (827 yards), scoring (36 points) and punt returns (21.0 average). Robinson also played many games at the Rose Bowl -- his 104-yard kickoff return is still apparently the longest in stadium history -- so on Wednesday, the stadium honored Jackie's legend with a statue:
Today we honored the great Jackie Robinson, with the first commemorative statue at the #RoseBowl, and the only in the world of him in a football uniform! ?To top it all off, Vin Scully, celebrated his birthday today as the MC!? #JackieRobinson #HappyBirthday #Vin pic.twitter.com/wAKFUCWIoM
— Rose Bowl Stadium (@RoseBowlStadium) November 30, 2017
The statue was a gift from the Tull's Family Foundation (Thomas Tull was a producer on the movie "42"). Rachel Robinson was in attendance and Vin Scully, who was celebrating his 90th birthday, hosted the event. The Rose Bowl likeness follows another that went up at Dodger Stadium in April to celebrate 70 years since Robinson heroically broke Major League Baseball's color barrier. Fitting tributes for a man of such tremendous skill and courage.
