Dodger Stadium to get its First Statue - Jackie Robinson

It's about time, right?

This morning the Dodgers announced that Dodger Stadium would be getting its very first statue and to the surprise of no one it will be of Jackie Robinson.

“The Dodgers have a rich history of breaking barriers and it all began with Jackie Robinson in 1947,” said Dodgers’ President and CEO Stan Kasten. “Therefore, it is altogether fitting that our first statue at Dodger Stadium be of Jackie. The class that Jackie exhibited while still performing at the highest level made everything that has happened since not only in baseball, but in many respects throughout American society, possible. It is with great humility and joy that the Dodgers launch this project in concert with Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson Foundation."

Per Rachel Robinson:

"We're thrilled that the Dodgers will honor Jack with the inaugural statue at Dodger Stadium," said Rachel Robinson, wife of Jackie Robinson and founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. 

The exact location of the statue is still up in the air, but the sculptor commissioned to complete it is not.  The Dodgers have chosen New York City-born (once living in Brooklyn) and now California-based sculptor Branly Cadet. 

(pic via NY Art Foundry)

“I am so honored to have the opportunity to design a sculpture memorial to Jackie Robinson for the Los Angeles Dodgers,” said Cadet.  “He is an icon of American history being celebrated by a legendary team in a grand city.   I’m excited to create a design that is both befitting of this context and pays homage to his legacy as a sports hero and civic leader.”

The piece will center around the theme, “Leveling the Playing Field.”  It is expected to stand approximately nine to ten feet tall, and is expected to be unveiled during the 2016 Baseball season.

You can view Branly Cadet's website here.  Cadet began studying sculpture at Cornell University, continued his studies in figurative art at the New York Academy of Art, The Arts Students League, and in France at the Vaugel Sculpture Studio and L'Ecole Albert Defois.  He had previously won the James Wilbur Johnston National Figure Sculpture Competition.  Notable past works include a William Shakespeare medallion at the former Booth Theatre site in New York City and an Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Memorial in front of the New York State Office Building in New York City.  A couple of pics of the Powell statue (including Cadet himself) can be seen on the right and below.

(photo via his website)

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