MLB and clubs to replace vandalized Jackie Robinson statue

The statue of Jackie Robinson that was stolen from a Wichita, Kansas, park last week and was found burned and dismantled on Tuesday will be replaced by Major League Baseball and the 30 clubs.

The Robinson statue was erected in 2021 at the front of McAdams Park, which is the home base of League 42, a local youth baseball league.

Bob Lutz, the executive director of League 42, announced the news of MLB and the clubs' involvement in replacing the statue on Wednesday, which also marks Robinson's 105th birthday.

Individual donations also poured in after Lutz started a GoFundMe page earlier this week. As of Wednesday night, the fundraiser had garnered more than $156,000.

Lutz told reporters Tuesday that a new Robinson statue would be built using the original mold.

"It will be a joyous occasion -- unlike today, unlike the past five days,” he said Tuesday.

In addition to paying for a replacement statue, MLB and the clubs will provide funding to League 42 programming to support its on-field and academic goals.

The statue of the baseball Hall of Famer and civil rights leader was stolen early Thursday morning. The theft sparked outrage and national headlines. Surveillance video showed two people hauling the statue away in the dark and loading it into a silver pickup truck. The thieves cut the statue at the ankles to remove it, leaving only the feet behind.

On Tuesday morning, the Wichita Fire Department responded to a report of a trash can fire at a nearby park, where firefighters found remnants of the bronze sculpture. Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford described it as “not salvageable.”

League 42, named after Robinson’s number with the Dodgers, is a local youth baseball league for children ages 5-14 primarily from urban areas. Founded in 2013, the league has grown to support more than 600 kids on 46 teams that hold their practices and games at McAdams Park. It also offers educational programs.