Dos Pueblos Little League will host its third annual Jackie Robinson Week this week, beginning on Wednesday, April 15, at Girsh Park in Goleta.
Wednesday marks the anniversary of the day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and teams across the league wear his iconic number 42 for the day.
While MLB celebrates Robinson and his legacy on Wednesday, Dos Pueblos LL will celebrate Robinson and several other trailblazing professional baseball players for the rest of the week.
Each of the four DPLL fields will be renamed with banners to honor these baseball legends. For the next week, Girsh Park will feature Jackie Robinson Field, Roberto Clemente Field, Masanori Murakami Field and Jim Abbott Field.
While Robinson broke the color barrier, Clemente was the first Latino inducted into the Hall of Fame, Murakami was the first Japanese player in MLB and Abbott was a one-handed pitcher who reached the Major Leagues.
“DPLL believes that Robinson’s breakthrough didn’t just open one door — it opened many,” DPLL special events co-chair Inés Casillas said. “Each of these banners tells that story. We want our players to see how one man’s courage created a legacy that welcomed others who had been left out.
“Abbott’s banner has been placed with particular intention at the Challengers Division field — DPLL’s division for players with physical and developmental disabilities — so those athletes can see themselves directly reflected in that legacy.”
Dos Pueblos LL has also painted the number 42 onto the fields for the week, and every player will receive a Jackie Robinson sticker to display on their helmet.