William Behrends

William Behrends
Bornc. 1946
Tryon, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationNorth Carolina State University (B.A.)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (M.F.A.)
Known forSculpting statues of baseball players
Websitewilliambehrendssculpture.com

William Frederick Behrends (born 1946) is an American sculptor who is best known for creating statues of iconic American sports figures, notably baseball players.[1]

Notable works

Behrands created all the statues for the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park:

He also created the statue of Tom Seaver at Citi Field,[7] the statue of Tony Gwynn at Petco Park,[8] the statues of Hank Aaron and Buck O'Neil at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,[9] and a statue of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson in MCU Park in Brooklyn.[10]

He also created the busts of Spiro Agnew, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney for the U.S. Senate's vice presidential bust collection.[11]

Additionally, Behrands annually sculpts the faces of winners of the Indianapolis 500 race onto the Borg-Warner Trophy.[12]

Personal life

A native of North Carolina, Behrends maintains a studio in Tryon, North Carolina. He studied architecture at North Carolina State University and earned a master's degree in fine arts and sculpture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

References

  1. ^ "From Willie Mays to Juan Montoya: The sculptor of sporting history". Fox Sports. October 23, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Epstein, Edward (August 7, 1998). "All Choked Up: Giants Legend Willie Mays Is Moved By Statue of Him for New Ballpark". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. ^ Schulman, Henry (May 5, 2003). "Emotional unveiling of McCovey statue". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Dickey, Glenn (May 22, 2005). "'Dominican Dandy' gets due -- statue unveiled at SBC". San Francisco Chronicle.
  5. ^ Shea, John (September 7, 2008). "Cepeda honored with his own statue at the ballpark". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ "Gaylord Perry statue to be dedicated at AT&T Park's 2nd & King Streets entrance". MLB.com (Press release). August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Schreiber, Jay (April 15, 2022). "Tom Seaver's Statue Stands 10 Feet Tall. Just Like Seaver". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Gwynn 'thrilled to death' with statue at Petco Park". ESPN. Associated Press. July 22, 2007.
  9. ^ Francis, Bill. "Standing Tall: Hank Aaron statue debut brings stars to Cooperstown". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
  10. ^ Gilberto, Gerard (January 30, 2022). "Robinson's legacy enhanced by sculpture". MiLB.com.
  11. ^ "Albert A. Gore, Jr". United States Senate. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Martin, Bruce (June 12, 2023). "Indy 500 sculptor gets his own 'Baby Borg' after completing his 33rd winner's face". NBC Sports.