Stolen 'Knothole Gang' statue returns to ballpark!

The Toledo Mud Hens along with the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and the Toledo Police Department announced today that all of the members of the Knothole Gang statue at Fifth Third Field have been reunited.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 13, the girl with the pigtail peering over the shoulder of two other children was removed from the foundation.

Stephen Gray, Manager of Fricker's on St. Clair Street learned that the statue had been vandalized and alerted the Mud Hens of the theft and a police report was filed. Fortunately, the girl had already been discovered by police and stored for safe-keeping.

Detective Tonya Rider of the Toledo Police Department was assigned to the investigation and ultimately located the statue in the police property room after reviewing police reports. She promptly returned it to the team.

Once the sculpture was recovered, the Arts Commission, in its role as administer of the city's public art program, began coordinating the conservation and reinstallation effort. Ken Thompson, owner of Flatlanders Sculpture Supply, who originally installed the sculpture, was contracted to complete the conservation and reinstallation work. As part of this work, some additional steps were taken to secure the sculpture and help to prevent future vandalism of this type.

Dan Hernandez, Art in Public Places Coordinator at the Arts Commission said "We were surprised to hear that Who's Up was vandalized and that the figure of the girl with pig tales had gone missing. She is an essential part of this much beloved piece and would surely have been missed if we would have had to refabricate her. Fortunately, she was recovered, only suffering minor damage and will be reunited with the other members of the knothole gang this Friday."

The sculpture, titled Who's Up? - Depicting a Knothole Gang was created by artist Emanuel Enriquez from Bowling Green, OH. The statue was dedicated on September 2, 2002 and was funded by the George Chapman family and the City of Toledo's One Percent for Art Program.