Model of Robinson Memorial to Be Unveiled

A model of a Pasadena memorial honoring Jackie and Mack Robinson will be unveiled today at the city’s central library in the brothers’ hometown, where they were virtually ignored during their prime as athletes because of racial discrimination.

The unveiling of the design for the two huge bronze heads, to be placed across from City Hall later this year, will be part of a noon celebration coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. The memorial is the city’s first recognition of Mack Robinson, a silver medalist in track in the 1936 Olympics.

“The memorial is on track for mid-September. The families have given their approval,” said Al Moses, president of Pasadena Robinson Memorial Inc., which is spearheading the $250,000 project.

The artistic team of Ralph Helmick, Stuart Schecter and John Outterbridge will create the two 10-foot bronze heads. To help pay for the memorial, the city pitched in $100,000, a private foundation provided $50,000 and the rest is from other donations, officials said.

The brothers grew up in Pasadena in the 1920s and 1930s, enduring racial taunts and segregation. Even when Jackie Robinson became the first black major league baseball player in 1947, his hometown did nothing to commemorate the event.

Later Robinson, who died in Connecticut in 1972, vowed that he never wanted anything to do with the city. Mack Robinson, now 83, still lives in Pasadena. He too got no recognition from Pasadena after his success in the Berlin Olympics. He worked for years digging ditches for the city.