Dodgers to unveil Jackie Robinson statue at Dodger Stadium in 2016

Taking a cue from the Star Plaza outside of Staples Center, the Los Angeles Dodgers have announced that the team will be unveiling a statue of baseball legend and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson during the 2016 season at Dodger Stadium.

The team selected California-based sculptor Branly Cadet to create the Jackie Robinson statue.

"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.  "Branly Cadet's excitement for the project is heartening, and I look forward to the unveiling with great enthusiasm."

The Robinson statue will be approximately nine to ten feet tall, and will have the theme of “Leveling the Playing Field.”  Once completed, it will be unveiled at Dodger Stadium at a location to be determined.

“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 in a statement. “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."

A graduate of Cornell University, Cadet studied figurative sculpture at the New York Academy of Art, Arts Student League, and the Vaugel Sculpture Studio and L’Ecole Albert Defois in France. Cadet won the prestigious James Wilbur Johnston National Figure Sculpture Competition and has completed several private and public commissions.

“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.”

Cadet’s previous works include the William Shakespeare medallion at the former Booth Theatre site in New York City, and the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Memorial in front of the New York State Office Building in New York City.  He is also currently working on a privately funded large-scale monument for the City of Philadelphia.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services