Central Park Conservancybsays it was erected the same year, so 1925. This was a story that was broadcast on radio across the country and everyone was enthralled- so Balto became a national hero: http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/balto.html
I can recall playing on and around the statue in the early 1970’s, when my grandmother told me the story.
It was there when I was a kid so before 82. Def not 2004.
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