Dodgers

Dodgers Legend Jackie Robinson To Get Ohio Statue For Legendary Moment

Los Angeles Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson will be honored for a classic moment in baseball history very soon. Moreover, if you don’t know about ‘The Handshake of the Century’; now is a good time to Google it and learn a little more. However, if you do, this will be pretty newsworthy to any Robinson or Dodgers fan.

Now a statue will be revealed in April of 2020 in Youngstown, Ohio of Robinson. Indeed, he will be doing the handshake of the century gesture. This statue was designed by artist George Shuba. Notably, Shuba has sculpted former presidents, Pope John Paul, and other star athletes.

From the official press release:

YOUNGTOWN, Ohio — A larger-than-life statue commemorating the inspiring 1946 handshake of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American Major League Baseball player, and George “Shotgun” Shuba, his white teammate, will inspire better relations among people of different racial backgrounds, say leaders of a group planning to build the statue in Ohio.

The Economic Action Group, a downtown Youngstown development advocate, and the newly formed Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue Committee aim to raise $400,000 to complete the statue and dedicate it on April 18, 2021, the 75th anniversary of what some have called “the handshake of the century” following Robinson’s first home run in modern professional baseball.

“A handshake at home plate by players of different races is no big deal in America today, but in 1946 it was a historic moment,” said Herb Washington, a local businessman and one of the co-chairs of the committee. “We want to memorialize that moment in a way that inspires people to relate more respectfully to those of other races. We need more Americans to follow the examples of Jackie Robinson and George Shuba.”

Finally, the statue will stand nearly 7 feet tall and appear near the Youngstown Amphitheater. We will have more on this story when the Robinson statue is revealed. Of course, baseball will be ongoing then; so it should make for a happy time of year to unveil the monument.

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