Stolen Jackie Robinson statue will be replaced after more than $160k donated

A historic statue of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson will be replaced after donations poured in to restore the statue that was stolen from a Kansas park and found destroyed.

On Wednesday — what would have been Jackie Robinson’s 105th birthday — an online fundraiser raised more than $160,000 to replace a bronze statue of the baseball legend that was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. reported the Associated Press.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and other baseball clubs have also pledged to help restore the stolen statue of Robinson, the first black baseball player to integrate Major League Baseball in 1947. MLB.com reports this.

The fundraiser raised more than double the amount needed to replace the $75,000 statue stolen from the public park last week.

Last week the bronze statue was found dismantled. Robinson’s likeness had been cut off at the ankles.

Officials later found burning remains of the statue in a trash can in the park. Those responsible for the theft and vandalism have not yet been caught.

Police are unsure whether the statue’s theft and subsequent vandalism were racially motivated.

The statue was originally commissioned by League 42, a small non-profit organization named after Robinson’s jersey number. The nonprofit oversees a youth little league team in Wichita and supports educational programming.

Bob Lutz, the executive director of League 42, shared the statue’s latest update in a message to Xformerly known as Twitter.

“What do you think about this? Amazing, huh? During this emotional week, we are proud to report some great news. (MLB), who has been in contact with (League 42) since this tragedy became public, extends their support to our youth formalized,” Lutz announced.

“The Commissionerate and the 30 clubs have committed funding towards the costs of replacing our Jackie Robinson statue and providing other forms of support to League 42,” he added.

Among the larger donations was $10,000 given anonymously by a former MLB player who won a World Series, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan announced in a statement.

“The community, along with the business community and the nation as a whole, have shown an incredible outpouring of support,” Sullivan said in a statement Wednesday, per AP.

“This effort highlights the kindness of the people and their determination to rebuild what has been taken from our community.”

In the statement, Sullivan also publicly called for those responsible for the statue’s removal to turn themselves in.

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