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Jackie Robinson's family opens World Series with 1st pitches

Alex Trautwig / Major League Baseball / Getty

Is there a more appropriate way to start a Los Angeles Dodgers World Series game?

Tuesday's Game 1 opened with pomp and circumstance befitting its historic setting at Dodger Stadium. Things officially got started when the Dodgers brought out the family of Jackie Robinson - his 95-year-old widow Rachel, along with their children Sharon and David - to throw out the game's ceremonial first pitches in a moving moment that got Chavez Ravine rocking.

This season marked the 70th anniversary of Jackie breaking baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. But Tuesday marked an even more important day for his family, as it's the 45th anniversary of his death.

Robinson, who was raised in Los Angeles and starred as a college athlete at UCLA, helped lead the Dodgers to six World Series appearances and one championship during his 10-year major-league career. His No. 42 is retired by all 30 big-league teams.

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