Jackie Robinson is rebuilt in bronze in Colorado after theft of statue from Kansas park

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and THOMAS PEIPERT
Associated Press

LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — Metalsmiths in Colorado are remaking Jackie Robinson in bronze after the theft of a beloved Kansas statue of the civil rights baseball icon set off a national outpouring of donations. It all started in January, when thieves cut the original statue off at its ankles, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. About 600 children play there in a youth baseball league called League 42. It is named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947. But donations poured in and the mold was still viable, allowing workers are Art Castings of Colorado to recreate it.