Branch Rickey Award Statue for Sale by the Rotary Club of Denver

Proceeds To Fund Programs Supporting Youth and Education

This original Artist’s Proof bronze statue was the symbol of the annual Branch Rickey award honoring outstanding community service and humanitarian work by Major League Baseball players and officials from 1992 until the award was discontinued after 2014. Among the 23 award recipients are Hall of Fame inductees, All Stars and MLB icons such as Dave Winfield, Curt Shilling, Tommy Lasorda and Kirby Puckett. Each name is recorded on name plates attached to the statue’s base. The bronze and its base are just over 37” tall, and the awards given to each recipient were 16” tall. This larger statue was present at the award ceremony each November, honoring the past awardees and symbolizing the contributions that Branch Rickey made to so many aspects of baseball.

This statue was also the inspiration for the larger-than-life version called “The Player”, which is a fan favorite and frequently photographed icon outside Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. That statue was placed and funded by the Rotary Club of Denver.

The sculptor, G. W. Lundeen, whose studio is in Loveland, Colorado, has been honored by, among others, the National Academy of Design, The National Sculpture Society, Allied Artists of America, and the State of Nebraska through the course of his career. He was brought up in Nebraska, and he attributes his time studying in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar as his motivation to sculpt fulltime and the influence on the humane content of his work.

This Artist’s Proof has been copied in seven numbered editions, matching the size of the bronze portion of this statue, but none have the connection to the Branch Rickey Award nor the symbolic base and provenance of this one-of-a-kind piece of history. With the base and the floor stand, this piece stands about 70 ½” tall. The floor stand can be removed and the statue and base can be placed on a table (weight of the statue/base is about 52 pounds).

The Branch Rickey Award gala raised over $1.7 million, supporting nonprofit organizations whose programs matched the mission of the Denver Rotary Club Foundation – supporting youth and education in Colorado. Each honoree attended the presentation gala, received their award and autographed baseballs given to underserved youth. The proceeds of this auction will be given to the Denver Rotary Club Foundation for distribution in its granting process.

The Branch Rickey Award was discontinued in 2014 after a long consideration by the Denver Rotary Club. As a fundraising mechanism for the Club the dinner format of the ceremony became cumbersome and less efficient as galas became less attractive. The Club is now vacating its offices and is looking for a good home for the statue.