Brooks Robinson - York, PA
N 39° 58.034 W 076° 43.743
18S E 352334 N 4425551
There is a new, beautiful statue of Orioles, Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson in front of Sovereign Bank Stadium. Robinson is part owner of the team.
Waymark Code: WMC021
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2011
Views: 7
There is a beautiful, bronze statue of Brooks Robinson located in front of Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, Pennsylvania. This stadium is home of the York Revolution, Atlantic League baseball team . The statue(s) was dedicated on April 5, 2008 and is based on the famous Norman Rockwell painting, Gee Thanks, Brooks!
Brooks Robinson is a very famous Hall of Fame baseball player who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles and is arguably the best third baseman to have ever played the game (after my favorite third baseman, Mike Schmidt!). Robinson began his professional career not too far away from Baltimore with the York White Roses in 1955.
Robinson had signed his first professional contract with the York White Roses after being sent down from the Orioles' roster, and took a bus from Maryland to York as an 18-year-old second baseman from Arkansas. White Roses manager George Staller eventually moved Robinson to third base and the rest is history.
He went back to the Orioles later that year and went on to play 23 seasons as the team's third baseman, winning 16 straight Gold Glove awards and playing in 2,896 games. At the plate, Robinson accumulated 2,848 hits, 268 homers and 1,357 RBIs.
The statue located in the Brooks Robinson Plaza was created by local artist Lorann Jacobs. Jacobs’ inspiration for the statue came from a Norman Rockwell painting entitled “Gee, Thanks Brooks” which features Robinson signing an autograph for a young fan. Jacobs, an avid fan of Norman Rockwell, became aware that Robinson purchased the original Rockwell painting and decided to model her statue after it. Jacobs and Opening Day Partners Chairman Peter Kirk, felt that the pose best demonstrated Brooks’ personality and character in addition to referencing his athletic prowess. SOURCE
The statue features an 18-year-old Robinson, donned in a White Roses uniform, signing an autograph on a baseball. The name of the team is written in cursive on the front of his uniform. The piece depicts him with his glove folded under his arm, standing next to two child-size bronze sculptures. One holds a ball in its hand. The other holds a glove against its chest. The kids are terrifically happy and eager to get their autographs. The sculptures were placed in Brooks Robinson Plaza and are meant to show how he has always been close to the community. I read Robinson's blog and he is very close to the community.
a newspaper article about the April 5, 2008 unveiling can be found SOURCE