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Ebbets Field Flagpole Makes Its Way To Barclays Center

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A piece of Ebbets Field now lives at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

The Ebbets Field flagpole was dedicated outside the borough's new arena on Tuesday.

Sharon Robinson, daughter of Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, took part in the ceremony, as did Jerry Stackhouse, who wears Robinson's No. 42.

The flagpole had been donated to a local VFW post after the stadium was demolished in 1960 and remained at that site until Nets part-owner Bruce Ratner, the Barclays Center developer, obtained it in 2007 with the plan of bringing it here.

"I think that's a beautiful connection to Ebbets Field," Robinson said. "To imagine this flying over Ebbets Field and that the Brooklyn Dodgers being so much part of that history, to have this plaque will remind them that the Brooklyn Dodgers were here and made such a difference in the community and now we have the Brooklyn Nets."

Stackhouse said Robinson's iconic number should be retired. Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

"I feel fortunate that they even allowed me to wear it this year, with so much history and what he's done," Stackhouse told the New York Times. "But I'll be the first to say that that's a number that, for this borough, probably should just be hung up in the rafters somewhere."

Should No. 42 be retired? Let us know in the comments...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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