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UCLA Retiring Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 In All Sports

By Phil Watson

Jackie Robinson was a four-sport star at UCLA before he became a national icon. (This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of 17 U.S.C. § 105.)
Jackie Robinson was a four-sport star at UCLA before he became a national icon. (This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of 17 U.S.C. § 105.) /
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Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 in 1997 and now his alma mater, UCLA, is doing the same, it was announced Saturday.

Before Jackie Robinson was a pioneer in Major League Baseball, he was a four-sport star for the UCLA Bruins.

On Saturday, the school announced it would honor Robinson’s legacy by retiring the No. 42 he made iconic as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in all sports.

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The announcement was made between the first and second quarters of the Bruins’ annual Los Angeles rivalry football game Saturday night against USC at the Rose Bowl.

The retirement of the number comes a day after the university announced that 22 athletic and recreation facilities across campus will be named the Jackie Robinson Athletics and Recreation Complex. Among the ways the facilities will mark their namesake will be with an in-ground No. 42 at each entry point.

"“Jackie Robinson’s name and his legacy are an honor to this university and to all the students and student-athletes who will continue to be inspired by his courage, dignity and grace,” UCLA chancellor Gene Block said Friday. “Jackie detested injustice, fought for civil rights and his spirit of breaking barries has been and always will be a guiding force of UCLA past, present and future.”"

Jackie Robinson competed in track at UCLA, as well as playing for its football, basketball and baseball teams. (This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.)
Jackie Robinson competed in track at UCLA, as well as playing for its football, basketball and baseball teams. (This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.) /

From 1939-41, Robinson was an honorable-mention All-American in football, twice led the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring as a basketball player, won the NCAA championship in the broad jump while competing in track and, of course, began his trek to the major leagues as a member of the Bruins’ baseball program.

UCLA’s players are wearing a No. 42 decal on their helmets for Saturday’s game and the number is also painted into the Rose Bowl field.

The three athletes at UCLA who currently wear the number—women’s soccer player Ally Courtnall, women’s softball player Jelly Felix and football linebacker Kenny Young—will be allowed to finish out their respective careers wearing the number.

Major League Baseball retired Robinson’s No. 42 on April 15, 1997, to mark the 50th anniversary of his debut as the first African-American to play the sport in the modern era.

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