Donations roll in after theft of statue

WICHITA, Kan. — Marcus Jones walked up to League 42 founder and executive director Bob Lutz during a gathering amid frigid temperatures Saturday morning at McAdams Park and handed him $2 from his allowance.

“Because the statue is really my favorite,” the 7-year-old said. “It’s a baseball thing.”

Jones is signed up to play in the league for this first time this season.

The league, which primarily serves inner-city and low-income youth, has already signed up its maximum 600 children to play this summer.

This week the league made headlines across the nation, including in ESPN and The Washington Post, for a loss — its iconic Jackie Robinson statue was cut away at the feet and hauled off in a truck early Thursday morning.

Robinson, who wore number 42, was the first Black player to break the color barrier and play in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The league is named after him. It took years of work for the league to get approval for the statue to be created and installed in 2021. It’s valued at $75,000.

The 300- to 400-pound bronze statue was cut off at the feet, which have now been removed as well. Roses with a card that says “We Miss You” were laid on the platform where the statue once stood at McAdams Park.

Lutz told about 80 people who braved the cold Saturday morning that the statue would be in that place again, whether from the old one surfacing or a new one being built.

“It’s a death in the family,” he said.

A $2,500 reward has been offered for any tips leading to an arrest and an additional $5,000 if the statue is recovered. Leniency has been offered if the thieves return the statue soon.

Police Chief Joe Sullivan, who attended the gathering Saturday, told people “don’t give up hope yet” and said his detectives have some “significant leads.” Police have released pictures and surveillance of the theft.

Sullivan, who came to Wichita after serving as a leader in the Philadelphia Police Department, said that someone he had a connection to in Philadelphia pledged $10,000 to help repair the original statue or build a new one.

Lutz said he didn’t yet know how much money had been raised.

One man on Saturday handed Lutz a check and said: “You know we love you … you’re doing great things.”

(AP via The Wichita Eagle/Travis Heying)

A bronze statue of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson was stolen from a park in Wichita, Kan., during the early morning hours Thursday. The statue, valued at $75,000, was the centerpiece of the League 42 ballpark facility, a baseball league started in 2015 to help kids with little access to organized sports.