Subject(s): Warren Spahn Sport: Baseball Location: OKC Redhawks, Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City, OK (Statue is one of three casts; others are at Atlanta Braves' Suntrust Park and Hartshorne School, Oklahoma) Unveiled: 2/7/2005 Sculptor: Shan Gray Material: Bronze Status: In Situ Inscription(s): Inscribed on plinth, side 1: Warren Edward Spahn. April 23, 1921 - November 24, 2003. Warren Spahn won 363 major league baseball games, more than any other left handed pitcher in history. He was a 14-time All-Star, won the 1957 Cy Young Award, pitched two no-hitters, led the National League in strikeouts four consecutive years and won 20 games a record tying 13 times. And all this after his 25th birthday and almost four years in the U.S, Army in World War II, where he earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for action in Europe. The Boston/Milwaukee Braves pitcher led the majors in games won by left or right handers a record-setting eight years, and also set the record for most strikeouts by a left hander - 2,583. He led the National League nine times in complete games and still holds the National League lifetime mark for career innings pitched. The stylish hurler also owns the NL record for most home runs by a pitcher with 35. He was the Sporting News National League Player of the Year in 1953, 1957, 1958 and 1961, was the winning pitcher in the 1953 All-Star game, and led the Braves to a World Series title in 1957. 'Spahnie' was born in Buffalo, N.Y., but moved to Oklahoma in the late 1940's. He bought an 800-acre ranch near Hartshorne and would not consider living anywhere outside the state of Oklahoma. "I have been in Oklahoma for 45 years and it is the closest thing to Utopia there is" he said. In 1967 he agreed to manage the Tulsa Oilers and the following year he led the team to a 95-53 regular season and a Pacific Coast League Championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, the first year he was eligible, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1993. Inscribed on plinth, side 2: OKLAHOMA CITY WISHES TO EXPRESS ITS GRATITUDE TO THE OKLAHOMA CENTENNIAL COMMISSION AND THE FOLLOWING CENTENNIAL SPONSORS FOR HONORING WARREN SPAHN. [List of sponsors] Plaque: Warren Spahn Statue. A nine-foot tall bronze sculpture depicts Baseball Hall of Famer Warren Spahn in his classic left-handed pitching stance and famous high leg-kick. The Boston/Milwaukee Braves pitcher led the team to a 1957 World Series title. Oklahoma Centennial Commemoration Commission. J. Blake Wade, Executive Director. Lee Allan Smith, Chairman of Centennial Projects and Events. Donated by: Dr. and Mrs. Srouji, Oklahoma Retina PLLC. Oklahoma League for the Blind. August 2006. Links: Sculptor