Celebrate the start of baseball season with a movie night, party honoring Jackie Robinson
Now that basketball is over (Rock Chalk), the focus can turn to baseball, and League 42 is putting on an event this weekend that will celebrate one of the game’s biggest icons.
On Saturday, League 42 — a nonprofit youth baseball league founded in 2013 by longtime Wichita sports columnist and radio host Bob Lutz — is putting on an event that will honor Jackie Robinson, the country’s first Black Major League Baseball player and the man who inspired League 42’s name. (Robinson wore the number 42 when he played.)
The event, which is scheduled for The Orpheum Theatre, 200 N. Broadway, will happen in two parts on Saturday evening. A League 42 VIP Experience, which costs $125, will happen on the stage at The Orpheum and will include food from The Artichoke, a cash bar and a session with Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City and an expert on Robinson. Included in the price of that ticket is a screening of “42,” the 2013 film about Robinson that starred Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford.
Those who want to attend just the film screening can get in for $10.
Money raised at the event will go toward supporting League 42’s operating costs and the purchase of uniforms and equipment for its nearly 600 players, who range in age from 5 to 14.
Lutz said that baseball fans in Wichita will particularly enjoy the VIP experience, which is limited to 125 people. Kendrick is one of the nation’s leading experts on Robinson, and he’ll take questions from attendees.
“It’s an opportunity to celebrate one of the game’s greatest players and one of the most impactful athletes of all time,” Lutz said.
Doors for the VIP experience open at 5:15 p.m., and doors for the film screening open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets for both events are available at www.selectaseat.com, by calling 316-755-7328 or at the Select-a-Seat box office inside Intrust Bank Arena.
Practices for League 42 have started, and its season begins on April 18. On April 15 — which is Jackie Robinson Day — two of League 42’s older teams will put on an exhibition game, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at McAdams Park, 1329 E. 16th St. North. The public is invited to attend.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 2:51 PM.
.jpg)