Don Newcombe, a teammate of Robinson's with the Brooklyn Dodgers and now a Dodgers special adviser to the chairman, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch to outfielder Matt Kemp before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers "Team 42" Scholars will be joined on the field by Newcombe for a pregame tribute to Robinson. The Dodgers Dream Foundation, the team's charitable arm, funds 42 college scholarships each year as part of the "Team 42" program.
Video tributes to Robinson will be shown on the Dodgervision board and in between innings.
The Dodgers Veteran of the Game ceremony will honor Theodore J. Lumpkin, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering World War II pilots.
All uniformed personnel -- players, managers, coaches and umpires -- throughout Major League Baseball will Robinson's No. 42 today. The number was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color line.
This is the fifth consecutive year on Major League Baseball's Jackie Robinson Day that all Dodger personnel have worn the number and the third consecutive year all major league personnel also wore the number.
Dodger players will sign their jerseys which will be auctioned off a later date to benefit the Dodgers
Dream Foundation and Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides four-year college scholarships, graduate school grants and extensive mentoring to academically distinguished minority students with leadership capacity.The foundation awards four-year college scholarships to academically gifted minority students with financial needs and provides them with mentoring programs and career counseling.
"Jackie Robinson Night is always a special night," Kemp said. "Jackie Robinson is a great man, somebody that I look up to. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now."
To Dodger manager Don Mattingly, the Jackie Robinson Day commemorations, which began in 2004, have prompted players to try to learn more about Robinson and blacks in baseball.
Mattingly said he read the book "After Jackie," which included interviews with more than 100 black former major league players.
"I was shocked that 15 years after (Robinson's debut) that they were still staying at different hotels and not able to go to restaurants," Mattingly said.
In connection with Jackie Robinson Day, Major League Baseball will launch its 'IAM42.com' online campaign today, designed for fans to make a personal connection to Robinson's legacy through online video sharing and social networking via Twitter and Facebook.
IAM42.com features personal video tributes from more than 60 current and former players. Fans are encouraged to share their thoughts on the enduring impact of Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier.
The site will be updated throughout the year in the lead-up to next year's 65th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier.
"Each year, Jackie Robinson Day is an occasion for us to pause and reflect on the game's proudest and most powerful moment," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "Jackie's legacy is as strong and vibrant as ever throughout Major League Baseball."
On April 15, 1947, Robinson -- who was raised in Pasadena and attended Muir High School, Pasadena City College and UCLA -- made his major league debut. He went hitless in four at-bats, but scored to be what proved to be the winning run in the Brooklyn Dodgers' 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves in front of a crowd announced at 25,623 at Ebbets Field.
Robinson played his entire major league career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, helping lead them to six National League championships during his 10 seasons, and, in 1955, their only World Series championship in Brooklyn.
Robinson's successful integration of Major League Baseball is credited with helping change Americans' attitudes toward blacks and being a catalyst toward later civil rights advances.
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