Tag: statue

Tom Brady. Credit: Bob Breidenbach/Providence Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK

Bronzed Brady: Patriots finally to unveil QB statue on Friday

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The long-awaited statue of Tom Brady, delayed due to scheduling issues, finally will be unveiled Friday outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced in June 2024 that the team would be erecting the 12-foot statue during that season. However, when Brady’s new employer, Fox Sports, changed plans to send the retired quarterback and its No. 1 broadcast team to Gillette on a game day, the statue dedication was put on hold.

Now, a short ceremony will be held Friday ahead of the Patriots’ preseason game against the Washington Commanders. Space constraints will allow only limited viewing, but the ceremony will be screened on the videoboards inside the stadium, ESPN reported. Kraft and Brady are expected to speak.

“We’ve had it in storage for over a year. We had hoped to do it a year ago, but Tommy is so busy. It was just hard to find a time,” Kraft told Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams Show” last week. “When he got his announcing job with Fox — by the way, I think he’s off the charts with what he’s doing. How lucky are we to have the 199th pick [in the 2000 NFL Draft] be the greatest player to every play in the over 100-year history of the NFL? He played for us and he’s just a great human being. We are excited to honor him before the game next Friday.”

It will be a nice culmination to a week of birthday celebrations for Brady, who turned 48 on Sunday.

Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships during his tenure in New England from 2000-19.

Last June, Kraft said the Brady statue will be the only one in the plaza.

“(The statue) will stand alone in the plaza outside of the Hall of Fame to symbolize his position, not as the greatest in franchise history, but as the greatest in all of NFL history,” Kraft said.

Brady was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player who holds the league records for completions (7,753), pass attempts (12,050), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He added his record seventh Super Bowl championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.

–Field Level Media

Tom Brady acknowledges his fans during a halftime celebration and the announcement of his induction in the the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Patriots to unveil Tom Brady statue on Aug. 8

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The New England Patriots will unveil a statue of quarterback Tom Brady outside of Gillette Stadium before their Aug. 8 preseason game against the Washington Commanders.

The team announced the details on Thursday, since June 12 is known as “Tom Brady Day” in Patriots territory because the date also can be written as 6/12. That represents the number of Super Bowl championships Brady won with the team (six) and his jersey number (12).

Plans for a 12-foot-tall bronze statue were originally announced in June 2024 when Brady was inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

“(The statue) will stand alone in the plaza outside of the Hall of Fame to symbolize his position, not as the greatest in franchise history, but as the greatest in all of NFL history,” team owner Robert Kraft said at the time.

Brady, 47, was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player who holds the league records for completions (7,753), pass attempts (12,050), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He added his record seventh Super Bowl championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.

–Field Level Media

Sep 11, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Former Detroit Lions Barry Sanders chat with Owner/Chair Emeritus of the Detroit Lions Martha Firestone Ford before the start of the NFL game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Lions to honor Hall of Famer Barry Sanders with statue

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Detroit Lions will unveil a statue of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders at Ford Field prior to the 2023 season.

Sanders will become the first Lions player to be immortalized with a statue.

“It is with immense pride that we share the news that we will be honoring the greatest running back in the history of football with a statue in the city we represent,” said Sheila Ford Hamp, the team’s principal owner and chair, told the team’s website Sunday. “Generations upon generations of fans will learn about Barry and his contributions not only to the Lions, but to the game of football. He is truly in a class of his own, and while we may never see a player quite as electrifying or elusive again, Barry’s legacy will live forever and be tangible right here in Detroit.”

Sanders, now 54, played 10 seasons with the Lions, who selected him with the third overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. He racked up numerous awards, including NFL MVP (1997), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1994, 1997), NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1989) and first-team All-Pro (1989-1991, 1994, 1995, 1997).

A 10-time Pro Bowl selection, Sanders led the NFL in rushing yards four times (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997) and was named to the 1990s All-Decade Team as well as the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

“Detroit has been my home ever since I was drafted by the Lions in 1989,” Sanders said. “This statue means the city will be my home forever, it’s surreal. There is no way that I can express my gratitude to the entire Ford family, my teammates, my coaches, the Lions front office, the media, and most of all to the fans. As I soak it all in and reflect on my career, I recognize what a tremendous honor this is.”

Sanders ran for 15,269 yards — good for fourth all-time on the NFL rushing list — and 99 touchdowns. He caught 352 passes for 2,921 yards and another 10 touchdowns.

–Field Level Media

Oct 31, 2020; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys mascot Spirit Rider holds an OSU flag as she rides Bullet on the field after a Cowboys touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Texas Longhorns at Boone Pickens Stadium. Texas won 41-34. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State statue will honor benefactor Pickens

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Oklahoma State will unveil a statue of benefactor T. Boone Pickens, who died last year at age 91.

The 9-foot-statue will be located west of the football stadium that bears his name and is scheduled for unveiling before the Nov. 28 game against Texas Tech. He will become the third person memorialized with a statue on the Stillwater campus, following former school president Henry Bennett and Nancy Randolph Davis, who was the first Black student at Oklahoma State.

Pickens donated nearly $600 million to departments campuswide at Oklahoma State, which he graduated from in 1951.

Much in the same way as Nike founder Phil Knight at Oregon, Pickens and his money helped raise a football program. Oklahoma State renamed its football stadium Boone Pickens Stadium in the fall of 2003.

His signature donation to Oklahoma State athletics was a $165 million gift in 2005 — with about $120 million earmarked for football facilities — that helped launch a wave of football success for the Cowboys and coach Mike Gundy, their new coach at the time.

Since 2006, the Cowboys have finished with a record above .500 each year and have won nine bowl games. The No. 14 Cowboys (4-1) are scheduled to play Saturday at Kansas State (4-2).

“We could never thank him enough for all that he did for our university,” athletic director Mike Holder said. “He gave us everything he had and all that he asked in return was that we play by the rules and dream big.”

The statue is being sculpted out of bronze by artist Harold Holden of Enid, Okla.

–Field Level Media