A Lasting Tribute for a Rockies Legend
A 15-foot, 800-pound bronze statue of Larry Walker now stands outside the main entrance of Coors Field at 20th and Blake in Lower Downtown Denver, capturing the Rockies' first Hall of Famer mid-swing, hoisting his bat to the sky. The statue, which depicts Walker's iconic Aug. 18, 1999 walk-off home run off Braves closer John Rocker, was unveiled over the weekend, making Walker the first Rockies player to be honored with a statue at the ballpark.
The ceremony drew a who's who of Rockies history, including Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins and Todd Helton, who will himself be honored with a statue on Sept. 19. Bob Gebhard, the Rockies' original general manager who brought Walker to Colorado, also attended. Walker, 59, from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, glided through a gracious speech, thanking the ballclub, his former teammates, and Rockies fans.
A Father's Influence
Walker paid special tribute to his father, who at 88 years old still umpires youth baseball games. "A few months ago, I was at my cabin in British Columbia," Walker said. "I asked my dad to come up and visit for the weekend, but he told me he couldn't. He had to umpire a game on Thursday, two games on Friday, a game on Saturday and two games on Sunday. He's umping home plate in all these games. He's umping 13- to 15-year-old kids. He's 88 years old. So, I think I know where I got my love of baseball from."
The statue, crafted by sculptors George and Mark Lundeen in Loveland, was transported from there on a trailer, laid on its side. Walker noted that he hadn't seen the statue before the unveiling, having posed with a plastic bat during a modeling session in Loveland last November.
A Career of Accolades
Walker's 17-year Major League career spanned stints with Montreal (1989-94), Colorado (1995-2004), and St. Louis (2004-05). He finished with a 313 career batting average, 383 home runs, and 1,311 RBIs, winning three National League batting titles with the Rockies (1998, 1999, and 2001) and the 1997 NL MVP award.
The statue captures a specific moment from that standout career: Walker's three-run, walk-off homer off Rocker in a 4-1 Rockies victory. That day, Walker went 2-for-4, also homering in the first inning off Kevin Millwood. He wore the Rockies' futuristic, silver and black "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotional jerseys in that game, the uniform now immortalized in bronze.
Walker, who admitted he typically didn't show up pitchers but did after that particular walk-off, reflected on the honor. "To have a statue outside of this ballpark, that's an honor that's pretty tough to put into words," he said. Rockies president Walker Monfort introduced Walker, saying, "He helped put Rockies baseball on the map."
Despite a 7-2 Rockies loss to Cleveland on the day of the ceremony, the event was a celebration of Walker's legacy, with the statue serving as a permanent reminder of his contributions to the franchise.