Police Find Stolen Jackie Robinson Statue Destroyed, Community Raises Funds To Replace It

Jackie Robinson is one of the most important athletes in American sports history. So, it only makes it more tragic and frustrating that someone would destroy something that was meant to honor and celebrate him.

Last week, a statue of Robinson outside of a baseball park in Wichita, Kansas, was stolen. While local authorities identified no suspect, surveillance footage did show someone cut the statue down by the ankles and put it in the back of a truck before leaving the scene.

When the stolen memorial’s location was discovered, nothing was left of it, making it nearly impossible to repair. If the community wants another Robinson statue, it must be made from scratch.

According to KAKE News, the statue’s remains were found early Tuesday morning (Jan. 30) after the Wichita Fire Department received a call about a trash can that had caught on fire at the park it was stolen from.

When they arrived, the fire department found only pieces of the statue. It’s considered “not salvageable at this time,” according to a statement from public information officer Andrew Ford.

While some may consider this a petty crime, community leaders are taking this crime seriously. During a Tuesday press conference, City of Wichita Council Member Brandon Johnson said, “We will make sure that we find a way to get that statue back. We will continue to invest in this community, and this tragic incident will not remove the hope we all have for the area.”

Nearly a week after the statue was taken and destroyed, a fundraiser has been started by League 42, a youth baseball league that plays games at the park where the statue was stolen.

In only four days of fundraising, the community has already raised nearly $180,000, surpassing its goal of raising $175,000 to replace the Robinson statue.

The statue is also important to the youth baseball league because it’s named after Jackie Robinson’s iconic uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 42.