Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs will replace the Jackie Robinson statue that was stolen before being burned and destroyed in Wichita, Kansas.
The statue was cut off at the ankles and stolen on Jan. 25 before being found in a trash can on Jan. 30.
According to ABC News, officials are calling the theft of the statue a “disgraceful” act after it was stolen from McAdams Park and later found beheaded, burned and thrown in a garbage can. Surveillance video caught the thieves around midnight entering the Jackie Robinson Pavilion, taking the statue in a pickup truck after cutting it at the ankles.
The Robinson statue was found destroyed in Garvey Park days later, and Wichita Police Department spokesperson Andrew Ford said the statue was on fire when it was found. The damages are estimated to be $75,000, per ESPN.
“Shortly after extinguishing the fire, the fire department saw what appeared to be pieces of the Jackie Robinson statue, which is not salvageable at this time,” Ford told CNN.
“It’s really disheartening to see the remnants of the statue, the disgraceful way it’s been disrespected,” said Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan. “This is a direct indication of the pressure our investigators are putting on the perpetrators that committed this act.”
Robinson broke color barriers in baseball back in 1947 when he became the first Black man to play Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Dodgers. He was named the National League’s MVP in 1949 and helped the team win the 1955 World Series. Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, 10 years before he passed away. His number, 42, was retired in 1997.
The Jackie Robinson statue was created by artist John Parsons.
Major League Baseball and Bob Lutz announced on Jan. 31, which would have been Robinson’s 105th birthday, that they were replacing the statue….
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