Rose Bowl unveils statue of Jackie Robinson playing football

Michael Dixon, Sportsnaut | Source, MSN

While Pasadena’s Rose Bowl has been around since 1922, Wednesday was a first in the great venue’s history. For the first time in its history, the Rose Bowl unveiled a commemorative statue. Fittingly, the statue is of Jackie Robinson, who went to high school in Pasadena and was a three-sport athlete at UCLA.

Even better, the ceremony was MC’d by longtime (and now retired) announcer for both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, Vin Scully. The commemoration fell on the Hall of Fame announcer’s 90th birthday.

While this is far from the only statue to honor Robinson, it is the only one of him playing football.

Robinson played football, ran track, and of course, played baseball for the Bruins.

In 1947, he broke baseball’s color barrier for the then Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American player in the modern major leagues.