Stolen Jackie Robinson statue cleats get home in Kansas City

All that remained from the theft of the Jackie Robinson statue at a baseball park in Wichita was the cleats.

The statue is being restored, and the cleats have found a new home in Kansas City.

The cleats will be on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, where they “will teach current and future generations tolerance and respect,” according to a museum spokesperson.

Robinson, while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947. He previously had played in the Negro Leagues for the Kansas

City Monarchs.

A bronze statue, valued at $75,000, was created in 2021 and erected at Wichita’s McAdams Park, site of the League 42 non-profit group’s headquarters. The “42” is a reference to Robinson’s uniform number and the league serves low-income youth.

The theft made national headlines. At least three people were involved. One has been charged and police say they expect others to be arrested, as well.

The Wichita Eagle reported that the thieves planned to scrap the metal from the statue for money, according to court records.

A new statue is on the way. Earlier this week, Major League Baseball donated $100,000 to help replace the statue — and a GoFundMe effort has raised nearly $200,000 more.