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As a wide-eyed youngster waiting outside Ebbets Field, Jeff Gottlieb would eagerly thrust a pen and paper in front of his favorite baseball stars in hopes of scoring an autograph. In the nestle of the legendary field’s brick exterior, there was one player who would sign everything that came his way, even if the Dodgers had been walloped in the day’s game.

“Jackie Robinson was always available for autographs, while other Brooklyn Dodgers pushed their way through the youths congregating outside of Ebbets Field,” said Gottlieb, who grew up to be president of the Central Queens Historical Society.

With Robinson’s big heart and pioneering baseball legacy in mind, Gottlieb has proposed that the New York Mets’ new home be named Jackie Robinson Stadium.

May people are familiar with Robinsons greatness in Brooklyn – he played for the Dodgers from 1947-1956, breaking barriers as the first black Major League Baseball player.

But in the summer of 1949, Robinson and his wife, Rachel, moved from East Flatbush to the Addisleigh Park section of St. Albans, Gottlieb said. The family attended St. Albans Congregational Church and shared the neighborhood with the likes of singer Lena Horne and Dodgers teammate Roy Campanella. He remained a Queens resident until 1956.

The trend for many professional sports stadiums in recent years has been to use corporation names in their titles.
Mets officials said that a naming-rights partner is important for the park’s financing, so the team will continue talks with major corporations. That does not mean, however, that those who deserve it will not get their due.

“We will appropriately recognize those who have contributed immensely to our team, our sport and our society – including Jackie Robinson – in a variety of ways in the new ballpark,” Horowitz said.

To help bring his proposal to fruition, Gottlieb said he is going to form a committee, pursue the attention of legislators, and write a letter to Mets owner Fred Wilpon.

“He had the awesome task of breaking the color barrier in major league baseball,” Gottlieb said of Robinson. “The new stadium is supposed to resemble Ebbets Field and symbolically connect Brooklyn and Queens. Jackie Robinson is a representation of that because he lived in Brooklyn and Queens.”

Gottlieb is not alone in seeking to honor baseball’s biggest hero. Representatives of the Borough President’s Office said they are attempting to put together a Jackie Robinson Awards Night for next year, the 50th Anniversary of Robinson winning the Rookie of the Year Award.

This Sunday’s Mets game vs. the San Francisco Giants ay 1:10 p.m. will be Negro League Appreciation Day and will feature a poster for the first 25,000 fans.