The Somerset Patriots of the Double-A level Eastern League wanted to pay tribute to a very important team from baseball history. The only problem was that team didn’t really have an identity of their own.
The New Jersey-based affiliate of the New York Yankees are taking part in Minor League Baseball’s “The Nine” initiative, a Black-community-focused outreach platform created to celebrate baseball’s Black pioneers named for the jersey number Jackie Robinson wore during his single season of Minor League Ball.
For their “The Nine” event on August 27th, the Patriots wanted to honour the New York Black Yankees, a professional ballclub that ran from 1932 through 1948 and was a member of the Negro National League starting in 1936. The Black Yankees, however, simply wore the same uniforms as the American League Yankees.
Enter the Patriots.
The team hired designer Ryan Foose, who had previously worked on the Patriots’ Copa de la Diversión set, to create a unique logo made specifically to honour and pay tribute to the Black Yankees.
The design naturally incorporates the interlocking letters of the classic “NY” logo from the Yankees cap and jersey but instead uses a “BY” for “Black Yankees” in order “to put the emphasis on the Negro League team versus the city of New York or the Yankees brand.”
Somerset will wear the new, custom Black Yankees logo on their uniform sleeve during the game on August 27th. The jersey will be navy blue with SOMERSET arched across the front in grey with piping down the middle.
From the team regarding the game on the 27th:
The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off online to benefit the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) and the organization’s work to tell the story of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of the African American community of the Sourland Mountain Region. To learn more about the SSAAM, visit: ssaamuseum.org.
In addition to SSAAM, the Patriots have teamed up various members of the Black community including Love Plainfield, Queen City Film Festival, Bold Action Photo Booths, Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Boys and Girls Club of Union County, Public Schools of Plainfield and many more.
The event will include a special pre-game program and exhibits on the main concourse to educate fans about the Black Yankees and the Negro Leagues. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a card strip with three baseball cards highlighting Black Yankees greats. In addition, a limited amount of Thunder Twins beer, honoring two of the greatest Negro League players that ever played, Josh Gibson and Buck O’Neil, will be available at the main gate.
– MiLB.com
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