Jackie Robinson Plaque Could Be Upgraded

City officials are working to upgrade a plaque honoring former Pasadena resident Jackie Robinson.

Robinson and his family moved to Northwest Pasadena in 1920. A plaque now commemorates Robinson’s residency in the City.

Jackie Robinson and his family resided here from 1922 to 1946.

Historians and local residents have claimed that the plaque on Pepper Street is hard to find.

As a result, the City has discussed erecting the plaque.

The flat plaque which is on the sidewalk reads, “Jackie Robinson resided on this site with his family from 1922 to 1946.”

The house was torn down in the 70s and even the address where Robinson lived no longer exists.

The current plaque, which is the second one, at the site was installed incorrectly with the words facing the property instead of the street. Now the plaque could be raised higher making it easier to find.

“It’s currently still being worked on by my office,” said City Manager Miguel Márquez after Councilmember Justin Jones asked about the progress of upgrading the plaque.

In 2020, after an author spoke before the City Council, then-District 3 City Councilmember John J. Kennedy said he supported the idea of raising the plaque.

“This is an opportunity for Pasadena to fully embrace Jackie Robinson in Northwest Pasadena and to celebrate the struggles that he had to endure to achieve so much in America,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also expressed a desire to upgrade a plaque honoring Barack Obama. Obama lived on Glenarm Street while attending Occidental College. Like the Robinson plaque, the Obama plaque cannot be seen from the street, making it hard to find.

The Robinson brothers made history on the world stage. Jackie broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. Before that, he was a standout athlete at John Muir High School and the University of California, Los Angeles.

His brother Mack won a silver medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, finishing behind Jesse Owens and smashing Hitler’s Aryan superiority claims.

According to legend, Owens had received new spikes shortly before the race which led to his victory. Mack was using the same spikes he had run in all season.

The Robinsons faced and battled racism in Pasadena and helped desegregate the pool at Brookside Park.

When Mack Robinson returned to Pasadena after the Olympics, he felt unappreciated. According to reports, Jackie never returned to Pasadena.

Jackie and Mack’s younger brother Edgar was brutalized by Pasadena Police on the Rose Parade route over parade seats in 1939.