WICHITA — An act of vandalism at a Wichita park was finally rectified Monday when a new version of League 42’s Jackie Robinson statue was unveiled at McAdams Park.
The original statue was stolen in the middle of the night in January, with only the shoes left behind. The theft garnered attention in Wichita and nationally, which led to $700,000 being raised for the nonprofit baseball league and Major League Baseball offering to cover the cost of rebuilding the new statue.
“People tell me all the time that they can’t believe the silver lining that has come from this, and they’re right, it’s been an incredible, positive, joyful experience,” Bob Lutz, the founder of League 42, said to the crowd.
League 42, named after Robinson, is a youth baseball league founded in 2013 that serves several hundred inner-city and low income youth every year.
The statue now sits on a pedestal at the improved Jackie Robinson pavilion. The statue, both the original and the new, was designed by John Parsons, who died in 2022.
“When Bob approached him about creating the Jackie sculpture he was all in,” Carol Parsons, John’s widow, said at the unveiling. “I will say, John was a nationally recognized sculptor, he had pieces all over the United States … but this was the pinnacle of his career.”
The summer heat did not stop the Wichita community from showing its support on Monday, as the event brought in hundreds of people, including some from out of state.
Jesse Crowe was one of the attendees who is not from Wichita. Crowe is a hospital director at Banner Health in Pheonix, Arizona, who first saw the story on TV.
“I’m sitting there, I’m watching the news, I’m heartbroken by the story,” Crowe told the Eagle. “I said to myself, ‘If they rebuild that statue, I’m going to be there to see it unveiled.’ That was the first thing I said to myself.”
Crowe said being in Wichita was “surreal.”
“The people have been so kind and gracious and so welcoming, that was the part that really jumped out,” Crowe said.
The statue was unveiled by League 42 players and one of the players, Marcus Jones, spoke at the event.
“Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball, and he was one of the greatest players of all time, and he put a spark in all of us,” Jones said.
Also in attendance included three former MLB players — Jeremy Guthrie, Dellin Betances and CC Sabathia.
“Someone asked me earlier today, what made me come here,” Sabathia said to the crowd. “It was me wanting to show up, you know, Jackie showed up every day of his life.