Rhea Stadium, (sculpture).

Rhea Stadium, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Rhea Stadium, (sculpture).

Mid-1930s. Dedicated 1939. Rededicated 1940.

Sculpture: stone and concrete.

6 faces. Each face: approx. 13 x 10 x 7 in.; Base: approx. H. 9 ft. x W. 20 ft.

(Above main entrance, incised lettering:) RUSSELLVILLE (Flanking entrance, below each head, incised lettering:) (Left side, top to bottom:) MANASSA/MAULER THORPE TY/COBB (Right side, top to bottom:) NURMI RED/GRANGE BABE/RUTH unsigned

The faces of six sports stars are carved around the main entrance to Rhea Stadium. On the left side, from top to bottom, are boxer Jack Dempsey, known as the Manassa Mauler; Jim Thorpe, a tri-sport athlete in baseball, football and track; and Ty Cobb, one of the first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. On the right side, from top to bottom, are Paavo Nurmi, an Olympic track and field star from Finland; Red Grange, University of Illinois running back nicknamed The Galloping Ghost; and George Herman "Babe" Ruth, a baseball legend. Each face is attached to a square panel that is set into the facade around the stadium entrance.

Portrait male -- Dempsey, Jack -- Head

Portrait male -- Thorpe, Jim -- Head

Portrait male -- Cobb, Tyrus Raymond -- Head

Portrait male -- Nurmi, Paavo -- Head

Portrait male -- Grange, Red -- Head

Portrait male -- Ruth, Babe -- Head

Occupation -- Sport -- Boxing

Occupation -- Sport -- Baseball

Occupation -- Sport -- Football

Occupation -- Sport -- Track & Field

Dress -- Accessory -- Helmet

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kentucky -- Russellville

Architectural component

Administered by Russellville City School System, Maintenance, East 7th Street, Russellville, Kentucky 42276

Located Rhea Stadium, Corner of 9th & South Summer Street, main entrance, Russellville, Kentucky

Rhea Stadium was constructed during the mid-1930s as a project of the Works Progress Administration. The stadium was dedicated at the end of the 1939 football season and rededicated at a formal ceremony before the start of the 1940 football season. The stadium was named after Thomas Rhea Sr., a local political figure who spearheaded the effort to have the stadium built in Russellville. In 1980 the stadium was renovated. Rhea Stadium has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Most Outstanding Works Progress Administration project in Kentucky. Plaques between box office windows inside main entrance read: RHEA STADIUM/HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE/NATIONAL REGISTER/OF HISTORIC PLACES/BY THE UNITED STATES/DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR/CONSTRUCTED IN COOPERATION WITH/THE/WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION/IN KENTUCKY/1939. IAS files contain articles from The News-Democrat (Russellville, KY): Jan. 5, 1939, pg. 1; April 18, 1946, pg. 1 ; Sept. 4, 1960, pg. 1; Sept. 11, 1980, pg. 1; and Sept. 19, 1991, pg. 1-2. IAS files also contain articles from The Logan Leader, Sept. 7, 1987, pg. 7-8 and Sept. 23, 1991, pg. 6.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kentucky survey, 1994.

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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