MILWAUKEE -- Bill Hall will honor the memory of Jackie Robinson by wearing No. 42 when the Brewers play at St. Louis on April 15, when Major League Baseball pays tribute to the man who broke the Major League color barrier.

Robinson debuted with the Dodgers on April 15, 1947, and as part of the 50th anniversary of that event in 1997, MLB retired No. 42 throughout the game. Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. lobbied MLB for permission to wear the number for this year's 60th anniversary celebration. Griffey was granted permission, and other teams were encouraged to take part.

"I'm in, 100 percent," said Hall, who was presented with the opportunity to don No. 42 by Brewers manager Ned Yost. "To honor [Robinson] in any way possible is great. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am right now. ... He handled all of the scrutiny and all he had to handle, and here I am 60 years later. It's just a great blessing."

Hall is one of four African-Americans, along with first baseman Prince Fielder and second baseman Rickie Weeks, in Milwaukee's starting lineup, and outfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. is on the bench. Some or all of those other players may wear No. 42 as well.

In the four years since he made his Brewers debut, Hall has done his part to get black kids interested in baseball, most recently through Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI), which began in Los Angeles in 1989 and is now promoting baseball in more than 200 cities. Hall is providing financial support to the program again in 2007.

"The percentage [of black Major Leaguers] is going down every year, and I'm trying my hardest with the RBI program and other things in the community to try to get more black kids to start playing baseball again," Hall said. "I think a lot of guys are stepping up to the plate with that, and hopefully in the coming years the number will start going back up."

The entire Dodgers team will wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. Among the other confirmed participants are the Giants' Barry Bonds, the Tigers' Gary Sheffield, the Astros' Carlos Lee and the Cubs' Derrek Lee.

Turn back the clock: The start of the Cubs-Brewers series marked the first "Retro Friday" of 2007, a 13-game schedule of promotions aimed to honor the 25th anniversary of the Brewers' only World Series appearance. They beat the Angels for the American League pennant but lost the World Series in seven games to the Cardinals.

On each Friday home game, all fans in attendance will receive a five-inch collectible bobblehead doll, compliments of American Family Insurance, Sentry Foods and the Wisconsin Lottery. Former Brewer Charlie Moore was the featured player on Friday.

On the field, the Brewers wore their pinstriped "retro" uniforms with a special patch and logo on jersey sleeves commemorating the Silver Anniversary of the pennant. Would Yost like to see the team bring back the ball and glove logo permanently?

"I do, but then there's a part of me that wants to take our current logo and do something special with that, too," Yost said.

Moore minute: Moore, a catcher who moved to right field after the team traded for Ted Simmons, is perhaps best remembered by Brewers fans for a defensive play in the top of the fifth inning in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. He fielded Fred Lynn's single and threw a rope to third base to cut down Reggie Jackson, who was trying to go from first to third.

That play kept the Brewers within one run of the Angels, who led at the time, 3-2. Moore later scored the tying run on Cecil Cooper's two-run, seventh-inning single.

Yost was a backup catcher on the '82 team. His memories of Moore?

"He was a feisty little gamer, man," Yost said. "He was kind of like Billy, he could play a lot of different positions. He was one of those guys that you wanted on your team."

Back to the present: Friday marked the first of 15 matchups between the Brewers and Cubs this season, including six games at Miller Park. Yost admitted that there is extra buzz in the park when the Cubs come to town.

"There is," Yost said. "You'd be lying if you said there wasn't."

Friday and Saturday were expected to be sellouts, but plenty of tickets remained for Sunday's Easter Sunday matchup at 1:05 p.m. CT, according to the club. Yost knew that half of those fans would probably be wearing Cubs red and blue, but it didn't seem to bother the skipper.

"I just want people here," Yost said. "If they're Cubs fans, I love for them to be here and then I love trying to keep them quiet. If we can pack this place every night I'll be happy, and I don't care who they are."

Last call: Yost said he plans to start backup catcher Damian Miller either on Saturday or Sunday. Johnny Estrada, the new starter, had two hits in each of his first three games. "He's going too good," Yost said of Estrada. ... According to Yost, Gwynn, Jr. is the Brewers' best bunter. He singled out Craig Counsell, Tony Graffanino and Hall as also very good. ... With big crowds expected Friday and Saturday, the Mitchell Blvd. exits off Interstate 94 will close about an hour prior to first pitch. When those exits close, general parking may be accessed through Miller Park Way (U.S. Hwy 41). Fans can tune into 1180-AM or 620-AM for up-to-the-minute traffic and parking information. ... Ben Sheets will look to build on his two-hit complete-game win over the Dodgers on Opening Day when he takes the mound against the Cubs on Saturday. Chicago will counter with ace Carlos Zambrano in a game scheduled to start at 12:05 p.m.