Jackie Robinson Statue Stolen From Little League Park in Kansas, According to Police
A statue honoring baseball legend Jackie Robinson at a Little League park in Kansas went missing this week, police announced Thursday.
The statue was cut off at the ankles and stolen, per the police report.
Robinson was the namesake for League 42, a youth baseball program in Wichita, Kansas. The organization, which has been operating since 2013, unveiled its statue of Robinson outside of McAdams Park in 2021.
“I’m still trying to process the fact that it’s gone, but we’ll do everything in our power to continue to honor Jackie Robinson in this community, and have the support of the community,” League 42 Executive Director Bob Lutz told CBS' KWCH 12 News on Thursday.
Robinson broke MLB's color barrier, and was a transformative Civil Rights leader on top of his storied career on the diamond.
After lettering in four varsity sports at UCLA, Robinson served in the military during World War II. He then started a career in the Negro Leagues in 1945.
Robinson made his MLB debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, ultimately winning National League Rookie of the Year. In 1949, Robinson won NL MVP after winning the NL batting title and leading all of baseball in stolen bases.
In 1955, Robinson led the Dodgers to their first-ever World Series title, and he fell one game short of picking up another ring in 1956. Robinson retired that offseason, and the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles a year later.
Robinson racked up 1,563 hits, 141 home runs, 761 RBI and 200 stolen bases in his professional career, all while hitting .313 with an .887 OPS. He made six All-Star appearances and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Every team in MLB has retired Robinson's No. 42 jersey, as has his alma mater in UCLA. There are statues of Robinson in Los Angeles, Cooperstown, Atlanta, Florida, New Jersey and Connecticut, in addition to the one that got stolen in Wichita.
Police are still investigating the disappearance of the original Robinson statue at McAdams Park, although they have obtained security footage of two men toppling it and loading it into a van late Wednesday night. League 42 is looking into finding a mold for a new Robinson statue, per KWCH 12.
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