Current:Home > ScamsA rebuilt bronze Jackie Robinson statue will be unveiled 6 months after the original was stolen-LoTradeCoin
A rebuilt bronze Jackie Robinson statue will be unveiled 6 months after the original was stolen
View Date:2024-12-24 20:58:06
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A rebuilt statue of Jackie Robinson in bronze will be welcomed home Monday by Little League players and former Major League Baseball All-Stars, just over six months after the original was destroyed by thieves.
The original sculpture of the baseball icon resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas.
An identical statue will return to the park, where about 600 children play in the urban youth baseball league called League 42, which was founded in 2013 and named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Playing for the Dodgers, Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s racial barrier in 1947.
The community is expected to be joined Monday by representatives of Major League Baseball and former players, including All-Stars CC Sabathia and Dellin Betances, according to League 42 posts on social media.
The nonprofit was met with an outpouring of support and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations after news of the stolen statue shocked the community and spread across the country. Bob Lutz, League 42 executive director, said this year that the donations helped fund the replacement statue, as well as improvements to the plaza where it stands, the nonprofit’s facilities and its programming.
The rebuilt statue is identical to the original because the mold was still viable. Dedicated in 2021, it was created by artist John Parsons, a friend of Lutz, before he died in 2022.
Firefighters found burned remnants of the original statue five days after it disappeared. One man pleaded guilty and will spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the statue heist.
Ricky Alderete was sentenced Friday to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 restitution for stealing the statue, an act he said stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.
The lonely cleats of the original found a new home at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, this year.
Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of Black American ballplayers. He is not only a sports legend, but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
- Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? Arkansas organizers aim to join the list
- FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One
- Phillies 3B Alec Bohm becomes first NL player to commit to 2024 MLB Home Run Derby
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- Trump asks judge to halt documents case after Supreme Court immunity ruling
- Fiery railcars with hazardous material mostly contained after derailment in North Dakota
- 2 dead, more than a dozen others injured in Detroit shooting, Michigan State Police say
- BITFII Introduce
- Bernhard Langer misses cut at Munich to bring 50-year European tour career to an end
Ranking
- Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
- DeMar DeRozan joining Sacramento Kings in trade with Bulls, Spurs, per report
- More records expected to shatter as long-running blanket of heat threatens 130 million in U.S.
- Residents in Wisconsin community return home after dam breach leads to evacuations
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- Forest fire has burned 4,000 acres in New Jersey but is now 60 percent contained, officials say
- Connecticut officials warn beachgoers of nesting shorebirds as they announce some park area closures
- Inside Chad Michael Murray's Sweet Family World With Sarah Roemer
Recommendation
-
Bo the police K-9, who located child taken at knifepoint, wins Hero Dog Awards 2024
-
2 Mississippi inmates captured after escape from prison
-
Even the kitchen sink: Snakes and other strange items intercepted at TSA checkpoints
-
NASCAR at Chicago 2024: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Grant Park 165
-
12 college students charged with hate crimes after assault in Maryland
-
Phillies 3B Alec Bohm becomes first NL player to commit to 2024 MLB Home Run Derby
-
Beryl bears down on Texas, where it is expected to hit after regaining hurricane strength
-
Pregnant Francesca Farago Shares How Jesse Sullivan's Teen Arlo Feels About Becoming an Older Sibling