When Gene Roddenberry submitted his first proposal for Star Trek to MGM Studios in 1964, his name for the starship commander was "Robert April." The proposal was rejected, and Star Trek did not become a television reality until 1966, by which time various changes to the premise had led to the captain's name being changed to Christopher Pike, and the acceptance of the series by NBC.
In 1974, the writers for the animated series picked up on this early legacy and included Robert April, now a Commodore, in the final episode of the series titled "The Counter-Clock Incident." It was probably this appeal to the history of the original series which led Paramount to include this episode (and no other of the animated series) in their official Trek history.