‘Just disheartening’: Plaques stolen from statues outside Citizens Bank Park

A handful of plaques were stolen from statues outside Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia in October, some honoring military service members and others paying homage to the Phillies’ former home at Veterans Stadium.

Today those plaques remain missing – and this isn’t the first time markers were stolen from the iconic fixtures.

“It’s just disheartening,” said Ed Speer, the Phillies’ director of facility operations. “People shouldn’t be taking things like that.”

Images surfaced on Reddit this week of the statue The Play at Second, with a concerned resident pointing out two blank spaces where plaques were normally affixed.

In total, 10 plaques were stolen from the statues, Speer said — two of which were medallions honoring veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

“That’s the part that really hits home with me,” Speer added.

According to Philadelphia police, a stadium employee reported the theft Oct. 9, just a day after the Phillies secured a wild-card win over the Cardinals and advanced to the playoffs.

The incident bears similarities to a reported theft in 2018, in which five bronze plaques worth a collective $7,500 were stolen from statues outside the park.

However, those plaques were recovered when a South Philadelphia scrap yard discovered the pieces in its lot and returned them to the Phillies organization.

Jasmine Reilly, a spokesperson for Philadelphia police, said detectives investigated the October incident and found no video evidence that would identify a suspect, and no arrests have been made.

The locations of the statues aren’t fully covered by the stadium’s security cameras and are at least a block away from its entrances, according to Speer.

And whoever stole the plaques likely wasn’t keeping them as a memento, Speer explained. He suspects the plaques were sold for scrap metal.

Hoping for a similar recovery to 2018, Reilly said detectives called local scrap yards during the investigation but came up empty.

Removing the plaques also takes some effort. The memorials are affixed using an epoxy coating and metal anchor, according to Speer. Thieves would need tools like a crowbar or screwdriver to pry them off.

While the timeline on the plaques’ replacement is pending, Speer said the Phillies organization is working to find alternatives with little monetary value, likely cut from stone.

The plaques’ original text will remain unchanged, he added.

Meanwhile, younger fans standing before The Play at Second” and other statues are missing a major history lesson, as the stolen plaques highlighted moments such as legendary Phillie Tug McGraw’s simulated last pitch at the Vet in its final days.

The statue was originally installed in Veterans Stadium in 1976, according to MLB.com, and was moved to its location along Pattison Avenue after the ballpark was imploded in 2004.

Local sculptor Joe Brown was selected by the Philadelphia Art Commission to create the four Veterans Stadium statues in 1970, according to MLB. The other pieces are Punter and The Batter, which were relocated to the north end of the Citizens Bank parking lot, and Tackle, which sits near The Play at Second.

The Phillies organization refurbished the statues in 2005, with their location marking the former site of the Vet.