The ''Reese and Robinson Monument'' is a bronze statue created by William Behrends which is located in at

Maimonides Park Maimonides Park (formerly MCU Park and KeySpan Park) is a minor league baseball stadium on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The home team and primary tenant is the New York Mets-affiliated ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, home field of the minor league

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island ...

. The monument depicts Baseball Hall of Famers

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

and

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. ...

, both of whom played for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. The statue is a memorial to an incident that alleged occurred during Robinson's rookie year where Reese, in response to racist heckles against his teammate in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, went over to him and put his arm around Robinson's shoulder. The scene was also depicted in '' 42'', a biopic about Robinson. However, it is disputed as to whether this event occurred or whether it occurred as it has been told. Regardless, Reese was Robinson's ally and friend during their time as teammates and stood by him. Robinson's widow,

Rachel Robinson Rachel Annetta Robinson (''née'' Isum; born July 19, 1922) is an American former professor and registered nurse. She is the widow of professional baseball player Jackie Robinson. After her husband's death, she founded the Jackie Robinson Found ...

, at the dedication of the statue, called it: "It's a historic symbol of a wonderful legacy of friendship, of teamwork, of courage – of a lot of things we hope we will be able to pass on to young people. And we hope they will be motivated by it, be inspired by it and think about what it would be like to stand up, dare to challenge the status quo and find a friend there who will come over and support you." In 2013, the statue was defaced with racist and antisemitic graffiti.

References

External links

Reese and Robinson Monument
at the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

{{Public art in Brooklyn 2005 sculptures Cultural depictions of Jackie Robinson Monuments and memorials in Brooklyn Outdoor sculptures in Brooklyn Sculptures of African Americans Statues in New York City Statues of baseball players Vandalized works of art in New York City Sculptures by William Behrends Statues of sportspeople in the United States