Subject(s): (from L to R) Ewing Kauffman, Muriel Kauffman Sport: Baseball Location: Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO Unveiled: 21/8/2009 Sculptor: Harry Weber Material: Bronze Status: In Situ Inscription(s): Inscribed on plinth, side 1: Ewing Marion Kauffman. ROYALS HALL OF FAME 1993. Muriel Irene Kauffman. ROYALS HALL OF FAME 1996. Ewing and Muriel Kauffman stepped up to the plate to bring Major League Baseball back to Kansas City in 1968. A gracious and vibrant couple, they helped build a model organization, a spectacular stadium and a championship team for their hometown. Partners in running a first-class franchise, Mr. and Mrs. K loved welcoming crowds to Royals Stadium where they were committed to providing baseball fans nothing but the best. The Kauffman legacy still flourishes here at the ballpark, at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden in Kansas City. Inscribed on plinth, side 2: Mr. & Mrs. K. HOMETOWN HEROES. Ewing and Muriel Kauffman pledged to bring baseball back to Kansas City and do everything to keep it here. They made good on that promise and more. Ewing Kauffman was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame on May 23, 1993. Royals Stadium was renamed Kauffman Stadium in his honor on July 2, 1993. He died on August 1, 1993. Muriel Kauffman, who attended to every detail from the team's colors to the stadium's majestic fountains, died on March 17, 1995. She was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1996. Their final gift to baseball fans was a groundbreaking commitment to keep the Royals in Kansas City long after their deaths. The plan allowed the team to be sold for a fair price and have the proceeds go to local charities. It was a noble gesture that few, if any, benefactors have ever matched. Inscribed on plinth, side 3: Ewing & Muriel Kauffman. BASEBALL ROYALTY. Ewing Kauffman's competitive nature fueled the Royals from the start. He hired original thinkers and encouraged them to transform baseball's hidebound culture. From computer analysis of statistics to the establishment of the innovative Royals Baseball Academy, Kauffman helped introduce a more scientific approach to the game. The Royals set a standard of excellence for expansion clubs, posting a winning record in 1971 - just their third season - and the best record in all of Major League Baseball in 1977. From 1976-1985, Kansas City made more postseason appearances than any other team in baseball. During the Kauffman years, the Royals won six division titles, two American League pennants and the 1985 World Series Championship. Inscribed on plinth, side 4: Ewing & Muriel Kauffman. CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT. An epitome of American entrepreneurship, Ewing Kauffman built the Royals with the same energy and creative instincts that he devoted to Marion Laboratories, a company he grew from the basement of his modest Kansas City home into a global pharmaceutical giant. On April 10, 1973, Mr. and Mrs. K welcomed fans to one of the most distinctive and beautiful ballparks in all of sports. Inspired by their vision, Royals Stadium was years ahead of its time and was the sole baseball-only facility built between 1966 and 1991. Spurred by the Royal Lancers sales force and player caravans throughout the Midwest, fans responded and Kansas City topped the magic two-million mark in season attendance eleven times from 1978-1991. Links: Sculptor