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Jackie Robinson statue cleats heading to Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The bronze cleats from a Jackie Robinson statue that was cut at the ankles and stolen last month will be donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, League 42's executive director told ESPN on Friday. Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, said Friday that there are plans to have a ceremony when the cleats arrive at the museum. Kendrick said the cleats likely will be displayed alongside a historical marker from Robinson's birthplace in Cairo, Georgia -- a marker that was damaged by gunfire in 2021 and was donated to the museum.
The statue, which police said was valued at $75,000, was stolen from McAdams Park, where League 42 plays its games. Police said they don't believe the crime to be racially motivated, based on what they know at this time. Instead, according to police, it's believed that it was "motivated by the financial gain of scrapping common metal." Lutz, a former Wichita newspaper reporter, founded the league a decade ago in a grassroots effort to provide an outlet for kids and to increase local African American participation in the sport. It now has more than 600 players, uses four fields and provides an indoor workout facility with artificial turf, along with after-school tutoring and financial literacy programs.
The statue of Robinson was erected in the park in 2021.
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