MELLON'S SCULPTURE, THE ROBINSON-SHUBA COMMEMORATIVE STATUE, “A HANDSHAKE FOR THE CENTURY” UNVEILED JULY 17, 2021

Co-chair of the project committee Ernie Brown with Mellon.

Co-chair of the project committee Herb Washington with Mellon and Mike Shuba, George Shuba's son, who worked with his father to teach schoolchildren the history of the historic handshake.

Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown with Mellon, after the formal transfer of the statue from the Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue Committee to The City of Youngstown, Ohio.

ESPN sports center video
'From Forgotten to Forever: Jackie Robinson's historic handshake'

Article in the Undefeated online: A handshake from a white teammate signaled Jackie Robinson’s arrival in America’s game

News 12 coverage: Statue commemorates Jackie Robinson’s first professional baseball game in Jersey City 75 years ago

SPECTRUM NEWS 1 COVERAGE OF THE PROJECT NOW THAT MELLON HAS CREATED THE FULL-SCALE MODEL FOR THE BRONZE STATUE OF THE JACKIE ROBINSON GEORGE SHUBA HANDSHAKE

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED DAILY COVER - LEFT HANGIN’: AN ODE (AND A WAVE GOODBYE) TO THE SPORTS HANDSHAKE

WKBN 27, CBS AFFILIATE, YOUNGSTOWN OHIO, SPEAKS WITH MELLON ON THE MID-PROCESS STAGES OF MODELING THE STATUE THAT WILL COMMEMORATE THE HISTORIC ROBINSON-SHUBA HANDSHAKE

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The Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue was unveiled,
dedicated, and presented to the City of Youngstown, Ohio in Wean Park,
on July 17, 2021, for the 75th anniversary of 

“A Handshake For The Century” 

 On April 18, 1946, rookie ballplayer Jackie Robinson’s first regular-season hit for the Montreal Royals - the minor league team developing players for the Brooklyn Dodgers - was a 3-run home run.  The teammates he drove in did not stop at home plate to congratulate Robinson, but on-deck hitter George “Shotgun” Shuba leaped forward to extend his hand. This spontaneous color-blind gesture was so unprecedented, it became national news, and marked the transition from segregated to integrated big-league baseball.  Robinson broke the color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers a year later – a harbinger of the coming Civil Rights Movement.