Jackie Robinson's birthday was honored by the Google Doodle on the main homepage. A Hollywood film this Spring will bring attention to Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodgers player.
Google's home page frequently features interactive and original designs to mark birthdays, news stories and famous cultural events and on Thursday, the site featured Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers infielder who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, who would have turned 94 in 2013.
Robinson is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential players of all time and Major League Baseball honors its first African-American player every year on April 15, which was the date he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Most major league players wear No. 42 during games on that day in honor of Robinson.
The Boston Red Sox are also celebrating Robinson's 94th birthday. Jackie's son, David Robinson, will be touring two middle schools in Boston today.
"We believe that Boston children should learn the story of Robinson, what he endured, and how his character led him to succeed in what many consider the beginning of the civil rights movement. Children are free to dream of any career, and to pursue those dreams and careers, thanks in part to Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. It's an important story to tell. Hollywood will do so in grand style this April [when the movie is released], and we are doing so in our intimate, grass-roots style," Red Sox senior advisor Dr. Charles Steinberg said in a press release on MLB.com.
Robinson was born in Georgia and grew up in California, where he was a four-sport star at Muir High School in Pasadena, playing baseball, basketball and football. He was a track athlete at the school and he later went to UCLA where he became the first player to letter in all four sports.
He played for 10 seasons with the Dodgers, ending his career with a .311 career batting average. Robinson was a six-time all-star, he won the 1949 NL batting title with a .342 average and helped the Dodgers win the 1955 World Series.
Even after retirement, Robinson stayed involved in the game, becoming first black television analyst covering the majors and the first black vice president of a major American corporation. He made it into the Hall of Fame in 1962 and later was awarded the highest honors a U.S. citizen can be bestowed: the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Honor. His jersey No. 42 was eventually retired by MLB for all teams.
Robinson's life will come to the big screen this spring in April in a biopic directed by Brian Helgeland, who also wrote the script. The film will be April 12, 2013, just before the anniversary of his first game.
Newcomer Chadwick Boseman will portray Jackie Robinson, while Harrison Ford will play Branch Rickey. The film will chronicle the life of Robinson and according to IMDB.com the synopsis reads, "The life story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey."
Many other players will be portrayed in the film, including Pee Wee Reese, who will be played by Lucas Black. In the trailer for the film, the famous moment of Reese putting his arm around Robinson is featured towards the end.
Google also recently honored Frank Zamboni on his birthday, creating an interactive game on the home page.
The main page featured an interactive game in which players can use the arrow keys on the computer keyboard to control a small ice machine with the goal of clearing the ice after a skater messes it all up. Players earn points by cleaning up the scratches on the ice, but must watch out for gas levels and other obstacles as the game moves from level to level. Players can also pick up fuel cans for extra range and ice cream cones for bonus points.
