Last month, someone stole a Jackie Robinson statue from McAdams Park, a youth baseball field in Wichita, Kansas. Its charred remains were later discovered in another part of the city.
Surveillance footage obtained by Yahoo Sports showed a brown truck pulling up to the park on the night of Jan. 24. Two individuals were seen working together to remove the statue by its ankles and hauled it back to the vehicle before driving away.
The Wichita Police and Fire Department later discovered the statue after receiving a call about a dumpster fire at Garvey Park in North Wichita, per Yahoo Sports. First responders found pieces of the sculpture as they worked to contain the flames.
Around midnight last night, someone stole the League 42 Jackie Robinson statue at the Jackie Robinson Pavilion in McAdams Park. pic.twitter.com/x0I3IhZhOg
— City of Wichita (@CityofWichita) January 25, 2024
The city estimates damages at approximately $75,000. Both the Wichita Police and Fire departments urged the community to assist in identifying the individuals responsible for vandalizing the beloved figure.
The bronze statue was owned by League 42, a program that paid homage to Robinson, the first African American player to break color barriers in Major League Baseball, debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
Executive Director Bob Lutz founded the program in 2013. He recently spoke with KWCH about the incident and said he would do everything possible to replace the statue.
“This was the heart and soul of League 42,” Lutz told KWCH. “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.”
The statue was created by the late sculptor John Parsons, who handcrafted the figure to look exactly like the iconic baseball player.
On Saturday, Jaclyn Evans, administrative assistant for League 42, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the statue. So far, the organization has raised nearly $190,000 of its $200,000 goal.