New adidas Cleat And Trainer Honors 70th Anniversary Of Jack Robinson Breaking Baseball’s Color Barrier
By Tim Ryan
April 15th, 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of when MLB legend Jackie Robinson famously broke baseball’s color barrier.
In honor and in celebration of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier back in April of 1947, @adidasBaseball has just announced the release of a special edition cleat, along with a turf trainer, to honor one of MLB’s most beloved legends.
Here’s a quick peek at both the cleat and the trainer.
From adidas:
"To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson™ breaking baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, adidas today unveiled a special edition baseball cleat and turf trainer and announced a new field at Robinson’s alma mater, John Muir High School in Pasadena, Calif., to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on April 15."
The announcement of a new field at No. 42’s alma mater serves as the perfect splash to cap off a top notch tribute and a superbly executed design.
.@adidas employees build new baseball field at John Muir High School to celebrate #JackieRobinsonDay https://t.co/fD9su04tb5 #teamadidas pic.twitter.com/1ytSHaHznY
— PabloMurphy® (@PabloMurphy) April 10, 2017
Pretty amazing work.
But speaking of design, the level of thought and detail that went into the cleats — also known as the 2017 Special Edition Jackie Robinson™ adizero Afterburner — is nothing short of remendous.
The gold foil signature on the inside upper, the rendering of the Ebbets Field facade on the heel, and that unmistakable gold-pinned tongue — inspired by 1947 World Series press pins — are just some of the fitting touches.
More from adidas:
"The bronze plate of the cleat was inspired by Robinson’s Hall of Fame bust. Further encapsulating some moments in time, adidas’ iconic three stripes are stitched in brown and black tweed to pay homage to the tweed suit jacket Robinson wore the day he retired from the game and Robinson’s stats are stamped into the heel pulltabs (BA .311 | R 947 | H 1518 | SB 197 | RBI 734 | HR 137)."
After tallying everything up, I believe the only thing these cleats do not acknowledge is that the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, was the last player in Major League Baseball to have the privilege of wearing No. 42. (Sorry, but Yankee fan gotta Yankee fan.)
As for the aforementioned turf trainers, they aren’t too shabby either.
Take a look, as they too also pay homage to the tweed suit that Jackie wore on the day of his retirement; among other things.
For the trainers, I might just be tempted to swap in solid black laces as a finishing touch of my own. Otherwise, these could be worn just about anywhere.
The special edition cleats will be going for $120 and the Icon Turf Trainer will cost you $100, both of which can be found on Friday, April 14, at adidas.com, Eastbay, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
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Previously:
- adidas Expected To Hit Over $5 Billion In U.S. Sales By 2020
- Snoop Dogg & adidad Football Unveil “Sunday’s Best” Collection
- adidas x Snoop Dogg: “Suited N Booted” Football Cleats
- Introducing The adidas “Money Pack” Cleats
- The “Uncaged Cheetah” adizero 5-Star 40 Cleats
- Sneaker Politics x adidas Consortium Gazelle
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For more scorching takes oozing with candor and a general air of superiority, follow Tim Ryan on Twitter and Instagram.