By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Little Klu just couldn't get enough of seeing Big Klu back in the on-deck circle.

Eleanor Kluszewski, the widow of late Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski, pulled the red tarp off Big Klu's likeness Monday in a dedication ceremony at Crosley Terrace in front of Great American Ball Park. Then she admired the slightly larger-than-life statue, sculpted by Tom Tsuchiya, that depicts Kluszewski, a Reds first baseman from 1947-1957, standing in the on-deck circle holding a pair of bats on his left shoulder. Eleanor Kluszewski was practically giddy as she posed for several pictures standing next to, in front of and with an arm around the statue.

"I'm a ham at heart, I guess," said Mrs. Kluszewski, who is affectionately referred to as Little Klu by some friends. She received a 1-foot-tall replica of the statue. "I've been on cloud nine for three years now since I found out they were going to do these statues. To see the statue evolve to this is really special."

Kluszewski is the first of four players to be immortalized in bronze on the Crosley Terrace, a mock infield in front of the ballpark. Ernie Lombardi, Frank Robinson and Joe Nuxhall will follow later this season. Kluszewski led the Major Leagues with 49 home runs and 141 RBI in 1954, and he hit .300 or better seven times with the Reds. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1962.

"This statue recognizes that he was a standup guy in a standup town on a standup ball club," said Tony Pyrz of Charlotte, N.C, Kluszewski's nephew.

Kluszewski earned the nickname Big Klu because of his 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame. He died in 1988.

"Ted Kluszewski was my hero when I was a kid," said Doug Rowe, a 56-year-old member of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, a local vintage baseball team that wears throwback Reds jerseys and whose members were present for Monday's ceremony. "I had the rare opportunity to watch Ted Kluszewski hit a grand slam home run to win a ball game at Crosley Field. He hit it right onto Spring Grove Avenue. He was the big slugger of my time."

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