At Art Castings studio in Loveland, Colorado, metalsmith Alex Haines is recreating a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson for the city of Wichita, Kansas after thieves stole and destroyed the original. The theft occurred in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park, where around 600 children play in a youth baseball league called League 42, named after his uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The news of the theft quickly spread across the nation, resulting in an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 in donations that enabled Wichita to reorder a replacement. Major League Baseball contributed a $100,000 gift towards the statue’s $45,000 replacement cost and other improvements such as landscaping and decorative bollards. The remaining funds raised will enhance the nonprofit’s programming and facilities.
Last year, the group opened the Leslie Rudd Learning Center, which includes an indoor baseball facility and a learning lab. There might even be enough money to add artificial turf and more lighting, Lutz said.
The replacement statue will look exactly like the original, created by artist John Parsons before his death in 2022. The Art Castings studio is known for its abundance of sculptors and artists, with owner Tony Workman stating that the thieves’ plan to sell the bronze for scrap was ill-conceived since it could not be melted down in a dumpster fire as they hoped.
The severed bronze cleats from the original statue found a new home last month at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Jackie Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers and is considered both a sports legend and civil rights icon who died in 1972.
The outpouring of support for rebuilding the statue reminds people that light can come from darkness, said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The replacement bronze statue will once again stand tall at McAdams Park, serving as an inspiration to all who look upon it.
