Joe Palooka, (sculpture).

Joe Palooka, (sculpture).

Hitchcock, George W., sculptor.

Fisher, Ham, d. 1955, designer.

Joe Palooka, (sculpture).

1948. Dedicated June 16, 1948. Relocated ca. 1952. Relocated 1960. Relocated 1984. Rededicated June 27, 1984.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Bedford limestone; Base: Bedford limestone.

Sculpture: approx. 102 x 51 x 35 in.; Base: approx. 2 ft. x 88 in. x 6 ft. (10 tons).

(On original plaque, attached to front of base:) THIS CORNERSTONE OF FREEDOM/PRESENTED JUNE 17, 1948/AT BEDFORD, INDIANA, U.S.A./THE STONE CITY OF THE WORLD/JOE PALOOKA/CHAMPION OF DEMOCRACY/ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 1948/HAM FISHER, CREATOR OF JOE PALOOKA,/DEDICATED THIS STATUE/IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE OF BEDFORD BY WILLIAM G. RILEY PRESIDENT OF/THE INDIANA LIMESTONE COMPANY, INC./ACCEPTED BY IVAN BRINEGAR/MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BEDFORD (On new plaque, attached to front of base:) DONATED BY/BEDFORD F.O.P. LODGE 94/TO/KIWANIS CLUB/OF OOLITIC/REDEDICATED/JUNE 27, 1984. unsigned

A standing figure of comic strip character Joe Palooka, clad in boxer's trunks, a cape, and laced-up gym shoes. His arms are back and his hands wrapped in tape are clinched in fists. He stands in front of a pile of limestone.

Cartoon -- Comics -- Joe Palooka

Occupation -- Sport -- Boxing

Dress -- Uniform -- Sports Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Oolitic

Oolitic Town Hall, 109 Main Street, P. O. Box 7, Oolitic, Indiana 47451

Formerly located Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 94, Dickerson Park, north of Bedford, off old Indiana Highway 37, Bedford, Indiana 1960-1984.

Formerly located Highway Limestone Mill, Bedford, Indiana ca. 1952-1960.

Originally installed Hillside north of Bedford, between Bedford & Oolitic, off old Indiana Highway 37, Bedford, Indiana until ca. 1952.

During World War II, the comic strip character Joe Palooka, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher, became a national symbol of democracy when he quit the boxing ring to enlist as an Army private. Ham Fisher designed the sculpture which was carved by George H. Hitchcock on the west side of the courthouse lawn in Bedford, Indiana. The sculpture was presented to the town of Bedford in 1948 by William G. Riley, President of the Indiana Limestone Company, to mark the centennial of the Indiana limestone industry.

The sculpture was originally installed on a hillside north of Bedford, but vandals used the sculpture for target practice, shooting off the figures's nose and ears. Around 1952, the sculpture was relocated to Highway Limestone Mill, and in 1960, it was relocated to Dickerson Park by the Bedford Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 94, who "adopted" the sculpture and repaired it. When the Dickerson Park property was sold, the Fraternal Order of Police donated the sculpture to the Kiwanis of Oolitic, who relocated it to its present site in 1984, refurbishing and rededicating it at the same time. IAS files contain newspaper articles from the Indianapolis News, May 19, 1960, and Sept. 5, 1983; The Indianapolis Star, Oct. 13, 1985.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey, 1993.

The Indianapolis Star, Oct. 13, 1985.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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