Jackie Robinson statue was stolen from Wichita park

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January 26, 2024

From the Associated Press

Jackie Robinson Statue cut off at the feet — eA bronze statue of legendary baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson was stolen from a park in Wichita, Kan., during the early morning hours on Thursday. (Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle )

A prized statue of Jackie Robinson was stolen from a public park in Kansas, spurring a police search Friday and outrage across the city of Wichita.

The statue honors the first player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947. Surveillance video was released of two people hauling the sculpture away in the dark. Wichita police said in a Facebook post that it went missing Thursday morning.

The statue was cut at the ankles to be removed. All that remained of the statue Friday were Robinson’s feet.

“I’m frustrated by the actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where kids and families in our community gather to learn the history of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play the game of baseball,” Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan said during a news conference Friday. “This should upset all of us.”

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