City officials discuss Hall of Fame Courtyard for Mobile's sports legends
Mar 9th, 2022
- March 8, 2022 -
For Immediate Release:
City officials discuss Hall of Fame Courtyard for Mobile's sports legends
Mobile, Ala. — Today the City of Mobile officially unveiled plans for a Hall of Fame Courtyard in Cooper Riverside Park honoring the five Mobilians inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Those Hall of Famers, which include Henry “Hank” Aaron, Satchel Paige, Billy Williams, Ozzie Smith and Willie Lee McCovey, all made their mark on our community, the game of baseball and the world. They represent a combined 1,730 home runs, 1,438 strikeouts, two MVPs, two Rookie of the Year awards, 56 All-Star Game appearances, 16 Gold Gloves, and three World Series championships.
“Per capita, there is no other community in the United States with more Hall of Fame Baseball players than Mobile, Alabama,” Mayor Sandy Stimpson said. “This is one way for the City of Mobile to recognize these great men and their contributions to Major League Baseball and our community. Above all else, we want to showcase their legacies and inspire future generations of Mobilians.”
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred said Mobile “holds a special place in baseball history.”
“As the birthplace of legends like Satchel Paige, Henry Aaron, Billy Williams, Willie McCovey, and Ozzie Smith, Mobile has produced some of our sport’s most trailblazing sportsmen,” Manfred said. “I applaud Mayor Sandy Stimpson and his team for giving these Hall of Famers a permanent space on Mobile’s waterfront so future generations of baseball fans can discover their hometown’s contributions to the game we all love.”
Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, echoed the same sentiment— calling Aaron, Paige, Williams, Smith and McCovey “legends” of the sport.
“We are pleased that these icons of the game will be honored with statues that will encourage future generations to aspire to their Hall of Fame example, both on and off the field,” Clark said. “It is fitting that their careers, and their journeys to Cooperstown, will be represented collectively in their hometown.”
The task of bringing these legendary sports figures to life will fall to Michigan-based artist Brett Grill, who will be designing and casting five, 9-foot-tall bronze statues of each of them beginning with Hank Aaron. In December, a committee of local artists, former public officials, retired professional athletes, journalists and others selected Grill’s work from submissions made by 13 artists from around the country.
The Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Missouri and an accomplished artist, Grill has previously sculpted presidents, politicians, athletes, coaches, and other leaders. The City of Mobile is excited to see his vision for the Hall of Fame Courtyard come to life over the next year and a half.
The Hall of Fame Courtyard will be a piece of a larger project aimed at activating the City’s downtown riverfront as a place for tourists, Mobilians, local events and entertainment. The project has already received support from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office, which allocated $8 million of the state’s GOMESA funding to help with enhancements along the riverfront last fall.
Canfor, which operates as Canfor Southern Pine in the U.S., and has its U.S. headquarters in Mobile, has also contributed $150,000 directly to the Hall of Fame Courtyard as a sign of its continued investment in our community. President and CEO Don Kayne was joined by other Canfor representatives at today’s event.
“Canfor Southern Pine is very proud to support the Hall of Fame Courtyard and the statue for legendary baseball player Hank Aaron, who represents a very important part of Mobile’s heritage,” said Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor.
You can view the archived live stream here.