Current:Home > FinanceCleats left behind after Jackie Robinson statue was stolen to be donated to Negro League Museum -Secure Growth Solutions
Cleats left behind after Jackie Robinson statue was stolen to be donated to Negro League Museum
View
Date:2025-04-13 16:21:42
The bronze Jackie Robinson cleats that were left behind when a statue of the first player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier was stolen from a Kansas park are being donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Thieves cut the statue off at its ankles last month, leaving only the feet behind at McAdams Park in Wichita. About 600 children play there in a youth baseball league called League 42. It is named after Robinson’ s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947.
Bob Lutz, executive director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the sculpture, said the museum in Kansas City, Missouri, was “enthusiastic” about incorporating the cleats into its display on Robinson.
The display also includes a damaged plaque honoring Robinson. The sign was erected in 2001 outside the birthplace of Robinson near Cairo, Georgia. Community members there discovered last year that someone had shot the plaque multiple times.
“It’s kind of sad in its own way, that we’re building this little shrine of Jackie Robinson stuff that has been defaced or damaged,” said Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “But it gives us an opportunity to speak to who he was, the characteristics and value of what he represented, even in the face of adversity. And that message really never goes out of style.”
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’s considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.
Fire crews found burned remnants of his statue five days after the theft while responding to a trash can fire at another park about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) away. One man was charged this month in the theft. Police said there was no evidence it was a hate-motivated crime, but rather the intent was to sell the metal for scrap.
Donations poured in after the theft, totaling around $300,000, Lutz said. The amount includes a $100,000 gift from Major League Baseball.
Lutz, whose friend, the artist John Parsons, made the statue before his death, said the mold is still viable and anticipated that a replacement can be erected within a matter of months. He estimated it would cost around $45,000 to replace the statue itself. While there also will be security and lighting expenses, that leaves lots of extra money that can be used to enhance some of the league’s programming and facilities, Lutz said.
“It’s just amazing how many people are interested in this story,” Lutz said.
veryGood! (2444)
Related
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Dakota Pipeline Builder Under Fire for Ohio Spill: 8 Violations in 7 Weeks
- Decades of Science Denial Related to Climate Change Has Led to Denial of the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Rihanna Shares Message on Embracing Motherhood With Topless Maternity Shoot
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Weaponizing the American flag as a tool of hate
- Changing our clocks is a health hazard. Just ask a sleep doctor
- Alec Baldwin Reacts to Birth of First Grandchild After Ireland Baldwin Welcomes Baby Girl
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- I Couldn't ZipUup My Jeans Until I Put On This Bodysuit With 6,700+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews
Ranking
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- The Baller
- Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it's creating isn't good
- The Politics Of Involuntary Commitment
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- The potentially deadly Candida auris fungus is spreading quickly in the U.S.
- Facing floods: What the world can learn from Bangladesh's climate solutions
- Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it's creating isn't good
How Miley Cyrus Feels About Being “Harshly Judged” as Child in the Spotlight
In These U.S. Cities, Heat Waves Will Kill Hundreds More as Temperatures Rise
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
U.S. Appeals Court in D.C. Restores Limitations on Super-Polluting HFCs
Yellowstone’s Grizzlies Wandering Farther from Home and Dying in Higher Numbers
U.S. Appeals Court in D.C. Restores Limitations on Super-Polluting HFCs