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Le Magnifique
ArtistBruce Wolfe and James Frederick
Year2012
TypeBronze
Dimensions3.12 m (10.25 ft)
LocationConsol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Mario Lemieux statue, officially known as Le Magnifique, is a bronze sculpture created by nationally-acclaimed sculptor Bruce Wolfe and is located outside of the Trib Total Media gate of the Consol Energy Center, near the intersection of Centre Avenue and Washington Place. The sculpture depicts Mario Lemieux, formerly the Penguins' team captain who eventually became first player-owner in modern sports history, breaking through two defensemen. The moment itself is considered a metaphor for what Lemieux accomplished in life and his ability to overcome obstacles. The statue itself was unveiled in a public ceremony on March 7, 2012.

History

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Background

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Mario Lemieux had spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, being selected first overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. During his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux set both single game and franchise records for games played, goals, assists, points. Despite being retired for almost a decade, Lemieux's long-standing records are still intact with no player being within 400 goals, 500 assists, or 900 points of



Michael Jordan had spent his entire career with the Chicago Bulls since being drafted in the 1984 NBA Draft by the team with the third overall selection. Eventually, he led the Bulls to three consecutive championships in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 NBA Finals. During each of these championship seasons he was an NBA All-Star, NBA scoring champion, All-NBA Team first team selection, NBA All-Defensive Team first team selection, and the NBA Finals MVP.[1][2]

After Jordan retired following the 1992–93 NBA season, Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf sought a sculptor to honor Jordan and requested that Chicago Bulls Vice President Steve Schanwald seek proposals from artists.[3] Twelve artists made proposals.[4] In January 1994, Schanwald hired Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Illinois, who erected a statue at the Bulls' new home for the 1994–95 NBA season, the United Center.[3] Until 1994 when they both moved, the Bulls and Blackhawks had played at Chicago Stadium.[5][6]

Creation and installation

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Base of statue (right side) at the United Center chronicling Jordan's career achievements.

While the sculpture was a work in progress, the location of the sculptor's rented studio was kept secret from the public, while the husband-and-wife sculptor team and three assistants spent four months working for sixteen hours every day of the week.[7] The process involved two sittings with Jordan for measurements and photos, including one in which the clay version had to be driven from Chicago to Nashville, to ensure the accuracy of the clay likeness.[4] The 2,000-pound (907.2 kg) sculpture, which is 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, rests on a 5-foot high black granite base that has an inscription reading "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." The base also includes a list of his accomplishments. The bronze statue used lost-wax casting.[3] The sculpture has led to a lot of similar work for the couple.[4]

The sculpture's official address is United Center, 1901 W. Madison Street.[8] Officially named The Spirit,[9] it is located outside of Gate 4.[10] The United Center opened on August 18, 1994.[10] The exact pose of Jordan in midflight is left for artistic interpretation, but speculations include his 63-point performance against Boston in the 1986 NBA Playoffs, the 1988 NBA All-Star Game slam-dunk contest at Chicago Stadium and his jumpman logo that has been on Jordan branded Nike products since the 1980s.[11] Jordan is depicted doing a right-handed slam dunk over two opponents while jumping right-to-left in the eastward facing statue giving him a southbound trajectory.[9] Prior to the beginning of each basketball season, the sculpture gets touched up.[12]

The sculpture was installed on October 31[4] and unveiled on November 1, 1994 in front of a national audience by Jordan, Reinsdorf and Larry King. Jordan's jersey number was retired during the ceremony.[3] Only Jordan's knee is attached to the base via a triple-steel post.[3][4] A stationary basketball hoop was almost part of the sculpture too.[4] The sculpture, which is hollow, was designed to withstand the natural elements.[4] After his second retirement following the 1997–98 NBA season, the following quote from the 1992 film A River Runs Through It was added to the base: "At that moment I knew, surely and clearly, that I was witnessing perfection. He stood before us, suspended above the earth, free from all its laws like a work of art, and I knew, just as surely and clearly, that life is not a work of art, and that the moment could not last."[3]

Reception and legacy

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Some complain that the sculpture does not depict Jordan's well-known open-mouthed tongue wag.[13] Chicago Tribune art critic Alan G. Artner says the inscription at the base that reads "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." refers only to the subject and not the sculpture.[9] Following the Bulls' second three-peat after Jordan's return, the statue became a sports mecca for fans to gather and take photographs.[14] ESPN The Magazine listed the sculpture as one of the ten greatest sports photo opportunities in 1998.[15]

In 1995, 123 28-inch (71.1 cm) bronze maquettes of the sculpture on 6-inch (15.2 cm) granite bases were produced by the Rotblatt-Amranys and sold at $10,000 ($19,996 in 2024 dollars)[16] each as a fundraiser for the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club.[7][17] The TNT 2-hour broadcast of the original ceremony had also been in part a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club, but some had thought it was overdone and ungraceful.[18][19]

At times, the statue has been adorned with various Chicago Blackhawks player jerseys. When Denis Savard's jersey was retired on March 19, 1998, fans put his jersey on the statue, but it was removed one hour later.[20] During the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, United Center personnel added an ice hockey helmet, a Reebok jersey of captain Jonathan Toews and Reebok ice skates to the statue.[21][22][23] Within 48 hours, the Reebok logos on the ice skates had been covered by Nike stickers.[24] When Chicagoan Barack Obama welcomed the Blackhawks to the White House as President of the United States, he made mention of the jersey being placed on the Jordan statue.[25] In May 2011, there was an announcement the Hockey Hall of Famers Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull would have statues placed outside of the United Center near Jordan's sometime early during the 2011–12 NHL season.[26]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Michael Jordan – 23". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  2. ^ "Full Name: Michael Jeffrey Jordan". NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Michael Jordan Statue". United Center. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Fluck, Adam. "The story behind Michael Jordan's Spirit". NBA.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  5. ^ Greene, Daniel (2005). "United Center". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society/Newberry Library. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  6. ^ Hayner, Donald A. (2005). "Chicago Stadium". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society/Newberry Library. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  7. ^ a b Revsine, Barbara (1994-11-27). "High-flying Sculptors: Meet The Couple Who Immortalized Michael Jordan In Bronze". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  8. ^ Thorn Clark, Sandy (2011-07-12). "Share the wealth: Help tourists find Chicago's offerings". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  9. ^ a b c Artner, Alan G. (1994-11-02). "Jordan Truly Larger Than Life: Sculpture Shows Spirit Of The Man, But Little More". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  10. ^ a b Johnson, K. C. (2009-09-10). "Chapter 10: Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  11. ^ Armour, Terry (1994-12-09). "Sculptors Clear The Air On Pose Of Jordan Statue". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  12. ^ Kuc, Chris (2009-10-07). "Blackhawks' Bolland, Eager out Thursday at Red Wings". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  13. ^ Rhodes, Steve (1994-11-07). "Even In Bronze, Jordan Spirit Is A Real Magnet". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  14. ^ Araton, Harvey (1998-06-04). "Sports of The Times; Sensing Something Special, a Celebration Is Delayed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  15. ^ Norwood, Robyn (1998-08-07). "Shaq's Touch Better Online Than at Line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  16. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  17. ^ Armour, Terry (1995-05-02). "Michael On A Mantel? For 10 Grand, He's Yours". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  18. ^ "Bye-bye, No. 23: Buzz went to see Michael Jordan's Chicago..." Chicago Tribune. 1994-11-08. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  19. ^ Smith, Sam (1994-11-02). "Jordan Recalled: Extremely Human, Hugely Gifted". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  20. ^ Mitchell, Fred (1998-05-20). "Bulls Enforce Dress Code On Jordan Statue". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  21. ^ Perez, A. J. (2010-05-28). "The Michael Jordan Statue, Toews-ered". AOL News. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  22. ^ Weir, Tom (2010-05-28). "Michael Jordan statue now looks like "Ice Jordan"". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  23. ^ "Air Toews". NBC Chicago. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2001-09-03.
  24. ^ Kerby, Trey (2010-06-02). "Even Michael Jordan's statue is a company man". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  25. ^ Jahns, Adam L. (2011-03-11). "Transcript: Pres. Obama honors the Blackhawks at White House". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  26. ^ "Mikita, Hull to get statues outside UC". Chicago Sun-Times. 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2011-09-03.

Category:2012 sculptures Category:Mario Lemieux Category:Outdoor sculptures in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Bronze sculptures in Pennsylvania







--- This is a list of the tallest players in National Hockey League history. (Number) of them have been listed at 6 feet 6 inches or taller. Only (number) are active as of the 2015–16 season; Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins,

The tallest to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is 7 feet, 4 inch Ralph Sampson.

In the seventh round of the 1981 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors used the 171st pick to select Yasutaka Okayama, a Japanese basketball player who was measured at 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m) and 330 pounds (150 kg).[1][2] Okayama, who attended and played junior varsity basketball at the University of Portland for one and a half years in 1976 as an exchange student, declined to try out for the Warriors and never played in the NBA.[3] He is the tallest person ever drafted and would have been the tallest player in the NBA had he played in the league.[4]

^ Active NHL player, under contract to an NHL team as of the start of the 2015-16 season
* Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Height Weight Player Nationality Teams GP G A PTS PIM W L OTL GAA SV% Notes
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Zdeno Chara^  SVK New York Islanders (1997–2002)
Ottawa Senators (2001–2006)
Boston Bruins (2006–) 		1195 169 369 538 1649 - - - - - Tallest player in NHL history. Also tallest drafted player in NHL history (drafted fifth-sixth overall by New York Islanders, 1996 NHL Draft.)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Joe Finley  USA Buffalo Sabres (2011–2012)
New York Islanders (2012–2013) 		21 0 1 1 32 - - - - - Tallest American player drafted in NHL history
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Mitch Fritz  CAN New York Islanders (2008–2009) 20 0 0 0 42 - - - - -
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Steve McKenna  CAN Los Angeles Kings (1996–2000)
Minnesota Wild (2000–)
Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–2001), (2002–2004)
New York Rangers (2001–2002)
 373 18 14 32 824 - - - - - Formerly held the record of NHL's all-time tallest player until Zdeno Chara's debut (11/17/1997)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Andrej Sustr^  CZE Tampa Bay Lightning (2012–) 117 1 20 21 50 - - - - - Tallest Czech player in NHL history; tallest undrafted player in NHL history.
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Tyler Myers^  USA Buffalo Sabres (2009–2015)
Winnipeg Jets (2015–) 		389 48 118 166 272 - - - - - Tallest player to win the Calder Memorial Trophy
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 259 lb (117 kg) John Scott^  CAN Minnesota Wild (2007–2010)
Chicago Blackhawks (2010–2012)
New York Rangers (2012)
Buffalo Sabres (2012–2014)
San Jose Sharks (2015)
Arizona Coyotes (2015–)
 274 5 5 10 517 - - - - -
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 359 lb (163 kg) Derek Boogaard  CAN Minnesota Wild (2005–2010)
New York Rangers (2010–2011) 		277 3 13 16 589 - - - - - Also the tallest player in ECHL history.
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Christopher Breen  CAN Calgary Flames (2013–2014 9 0 2 2 5 - - - - -
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Jamie Oleksiak  CAN Dallas Stars (2012–2015) 59 1 9 10 24 - - - - - Tallest player drafted in the first round (14th overall by the Dallas Stars, 2011 NHL Draft)
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Hal Gill  USA Boston Bruins (1997–2006)
Toronto Maple Leafs (2006–2008)
Pittsburgh Penguins (2007–2009)
Montreal Canadiens (2009–2012)
Nashville Predators (2011–2013)
Philadelphia Flyers (2013–2014) 		1108 36 148 184 962 - - - - -
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Rik Smits  NED Indiana Pacers (1988–2000) 867 12,871 14.8 .507 .773 5,277 6.1 1,111 1.3
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Ralph Sampson*  USA Houston Rockets (1983–1987)
Golden State Warriors (1987–1989)
Sacramento Kings (1989–1991)
Washington Bullets (1991–1992) 		456 7,039 15.4 .486 .661 4,011 8.8 752 1.6 Tallest player inducted into the Hall of Fame.
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 325 lb (147 kg) Priest Lauderdale  USA Atlanta Hawks (1996–1997)
Denver Nuggets (1997–1998) 		74 255 3.4 .472 .554 143 1.9 26 0.4
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 293 lb (133 kg) Boban Marjanović^  SER San Antonio Spurs (2015–Present)
7 ft 3.5 in (2.22 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Peter John Ramos  PUR Washington Wizards (2004–2005) 6 11 1.8 .500 .500 4 0.7 1 0.2
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 263 lb (119 kg) Randy Breuer  USA Milwaukee Bucks (1983–1990)
Minnesota Timberwolves (1990–1992)
Atlanta Hawks (1992–1993)
Sacramento Kings (1993) 		681 4,599 6.8 .467 .628 2,986 4.4 750 1.1
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Keith Closs  USA Los Angeles Clippers (1997–2000) 130 502 3.9 .471 .606 372 2.9 163 1.3 During his collegiate career, Closs averaged 5.9 blocks per game, which is the NCAA Division I record.
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Swede Halbrook  USA Syracuse Nationals (1960–1962) 143 786 5.5 .347 .591 949 6.6 — —
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Žydrūnas Ilgauskas  LTU Cleveland Cavaliers (1997–2010)
Miami Heat (2010–2011) 		771 10,616 13.8 .475 .780 5,904 7.7 1,269 1.6
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Aleksandar Radojević  BIH
 MNE 		Toronto Raptors (1999–2000)
Utah Jazz (2004–2005) 		15 26 1.7 .308 .625 36 2.4 3 0.2
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 292 lb (132 kg) Arvydas Sabonis*  LTU Portland Trail Blazers (1995–2001, 2002–2003) 470 5,629 12.0 .500 .786 3,436 7.3 494 1.1 Sabonis was originally drafted into the NBA in 1986 (Rd. 1, #24 overall), but he was not allowed to play in the NBA for most of his career due to restrictions by the former Soviet Union.
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 305 lb (138 kg) Ha Seung-Jin  KOR Portland Trail Blazers (2005–2006) 46 70 1.5 .519 .500 67 1.5 13 0.3 Only Korean player to play in the NBA.
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 267 lb (121 kg) Hasheem Thabeet  TZA Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2011)
Houston Rockets (2011–2012)
Portland Trail Blazers (2012)
Oklahoma City Thunder (2012–2014) 		224 483 2.2 .567 .578 595 2.7 184 0.8 Only Tanzanian player to play in the NBA.
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Walter Tavares^  CPV Atlanta Hawks (2015–Present) Only Cape Verdian player to play in the NBA.

Jason Missiaen - 6' 8", goalie, NYR Niko Hovinen - 6' 7", goalie, MIN pick Lane Manson - 6' 9", defense ATL pick

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kim, Randy (June 19, 2003). "Draft Oddities". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  2. ^ "Chibi Not A Chibi". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania: Reading Eagle Company. June 11, 1981. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  3. ^ "7-foot 7 and a judo expert too". Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington: The McClatchy Company. October 29, 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  4. ^ "Former NBA player, humanitarian Manute Bol dies at age 47". NY Daily News. Daily News, L.P. June 19, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.

Category:Human height Category:National Basketball Association lists Tallest NBA

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