- Police footage shows the statue being removed from its pedestal and driven away
- There's now a statue made entirely of shoes at League 42's McAdams Park in Wichita
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A bronze statue of baseball great Jackie Robinson had its ankles cut off Thursday morning and was taken away in a truck from a youth training facility in Wichita, Kansas.
The theft occurred at McAdams Park, where the League 42 Foundation used the park for youth baseball. The park's website claims that the sporting starts of Barry Sanders and Lynette Woodard took place here.
All that remains of the statue are Robinson's boots, while police surveillance footage shows the thieves taking the rest of the sculpture, loading it into the back of a pickup truck and driving away.
“The actions of those individuals who had the courage to remove the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where children and families in our community can come together, learn the story of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play baseball should upset everyone .” from us,” said Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan.
“What concerns me even more is that this theft occurred just before the beginning of February, the start of Black History Month,” Sullivan continued. “Our city wants the law returned.” “We also want the people who stole a treasure from our community to be held accountable for their actions.”
Local surveillance footage shows the thieves leaving Wichita Park with the statue
All that's left of the Robinson statue in Wichita is his boots, as the rest was stolen on Thursday
Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and is a pioneer in the sport by integrating America's most popular sport at the time.
League 42 was founded in 2013 to allow Wichita's youth to learn the game of baseball without the high costs associated with the sport.
According to local news reports, League 42 received permission directly from the Robinson family to build the statue of him in 2021.
Robinson's number 42 is retired by all 30 Major League Baseball teams and he is the only player to receive this honor.
In all four major sports leagues, Wayne Gretzky and Bill Russell also had a league-wide jersey number retired. The NFL does not have a retired number in the entire league.
The Wichita Metro Crime Commission on Friday offered a reward of up to $2,500 for tips leading to arrests and an additional $5,000 for tips leading to the recovery of the statue.
According to the Wichita municipal government, the damages are $75,000.
Robinson is an iconic sports figure and League 42 honored him by building the statue in 2021
Sullivan said he hopes local junkyards will contact police if the statue is taken for money.
Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson called the theft “horrible” and “disgusting” and said residents were hurt and angry and demanding justice.
“A lot of people want to find these people before the police get them,” Johnson said. “So again, like the boss and the [district attorney] said if you have this statue, bring it here today. Now.'
League 42 paid about $50,000 for the statue, according to executive director Bob Lutz.