Officials find burned remnants of Jackie Robinson statue stolen from park
Jackie Robinson statue: Police found the charred remains of a Jackie Robinson statue that was stolen last week from a park in Wichita, Kansas. (Wichita Police Department /Wichita Police Department)
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
WICHITA, Kan. — A statue of baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson that was dismantled at its feet and stolen last week from a Kansas park was found burned and in pieces on Tuesday, authorities said.
The statue, which was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, was found approximately seven miles south in Garvey Park in the southern area of the city, The Wichita Eagle reported. Pieces of the statue were found in a trash can that was on fire in Garvey Park, according to KWCH-TV.
“It’s not salvageable at this time,” Wichita police spokesperson Andrew Ford said during a news conference Tuesday at Garvey Park.
The statue of Robinson, who became the first player in modern history to break the color line in major league baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, had been stolen from the League 42 Baseball fields, according to the Wichita Police Department.
League 42 honors the number worn by Robinson during his 10-year major league career.
According to a Facebook post on Monday by the police department, investigators located and recovered the truck believed to be used in the theft of the statue.
City council member Brandon Johnson said a new statue will be built. According to League 42 founder and executive director Bob Lutz, the youth league still has a mold from the original sculptor, the late John Parsons, so the new statue will be identical, the Eagle reported.
“This is not the result we wanted, but it is a result,” Lutz said. “And now we can move on. We know what’s ahead of us, we know we are going to incorporate a brand-new statue that looks exactly like the old one … We are already working on that. In a matter of months that will be erected at McAdams Park and we are looking forward to that day.”
The statue, valued at $75,000, was dismantled before it was burned, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said, according to the Eagle. The statue was installed in 2021 in McAdams Park, where roughly 600 children play in the youth baseball league, The Associated Press reported. It is the centerpiece of the Jackie Robinson Pavilion in the park, according to KWCH.
“It’s really disheartening to see the remnants of the statue, the disgraceful way in which it has been disrespected,” Sullivan said during the news conference, adding that “there will be arrests.”
Robinson played for the Dodgers between 1947 and 1956, leading the team to six National League pennants and one World Series title, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1947 and was the league’s MVP two years later. The six-time All-Star was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
A GoFundMe page has been started to raise money for a new statue. More than $28,000 had been raised as of Tuesday evening.
Through the years Jackie Robinson, in military uniform, becomes the first African American to sign with a white professional baseball team. He signs a contract with the minor league club in Montreal, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years Jackie Robinson shakes Branch Rickey's hand after signing his 1948 contract. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years 1949-Jackie Robinson during baseball practice. Robinson is shown bending to catch a ground ball. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years 4/10/1947-New York, NY-Jackie Robinson, first Black man to be signed by a Major League baseball team, is shown in post-swing position in front of the stands. Robinson changed uniforms after playing with Montreal in an exhibition game against the Dodgers. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years 4/11/1947-New York, NY: Youthful Brooklyn Dodger's rooters and fans, reach over from behind the dugout at Ebbets field, trying to get an autograph from Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to reach the Major League. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years circa 1945: A portrait of the Brooklyn Dodgers' infielder Jackie Robinson in uniform. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Through the years Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey talking to his second sacker Jackie Robinson at a team training camp in Vero Beach, Florida, 17th March 1949. (Photo by Curt Gunther/Keystone/Archive Photos/Getty Images) (Curt Gunther/Getty Images)
Through the years Jackie Robinson, of the Brooklyn Dodgers, slides home on a steal in the fourth inning of the first game of a double header with the Phillies July 2. Catcher Andy Seminick waits for the throw as Gil Hodges, at bat, steps aside. It was Robinson's first steal of home this season. Phillies took the first game 6-4, and were forced to accept a draw in the second, 8-8. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years American baseball player Jackie Robinson (1919 - 1972) during his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 28th August 1949. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Through the years Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson poses in his batting stance. Robinson broke baseball's color barrier when he joined the Dodgers in April 1947, going on to be named National League Rookie of the Year. Two year's later, Robinson was named National League Most Valuable Player. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Through the years American baseball player Jackie Robinson (1919 - 1972) grounds a ball at first place while warming up for an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, Ebbets Field, NYC, 1950s. (Photo by Hulton|Archive/Getty Images) (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Through the years Jackie Robinson #42 of the Brooklyn Dodgers poses for a portrait circa 1947 - 1956. (Photo by Photo File/MLB Photos via Getty Images) (Photo File/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Through the years The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (L) and baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson chat together before a press conference in New York, September 19th. Dr. King, who arrived to open a drive for funds and a northern "non-violent army" of clergymen and followers to battle segregation, said the "real showdown" in the segregation fight was the struggle to get African American James Meredith into the University of Mississippi. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)