CLEVELAND — On Friday night, the Akron RubberDucks paid tribute to local sports history by donning uniforms for the Akron Black Tyrites, a local baseball team that was once part of the Negro National League nearly a century ago.
Their challengers, the Harrisburg Senators, also took part, wearing the uniforms of the Jacksonville Red Caps, another team that was part of the league with ties to Cleveland.
Swinging back to the 20th century
The Black Tyrites were part of the NNL in 1933. When researching the Black Tyrites, the RubberDucks found limited photos of the Tyrites jerseys since the team only played a handful of games in Akron. That led the Ducks to create logos and uniforms in a style that they believed the team would have worn.
"We decided, what could we do that would really symbolize... the team that was here," said President and General Manager of the Akron RubberDucks, Jim Pfander.
Pfander said the Black Tyrites started in Columbus but moved to Akron for 10 games. After that, the team moved again and finished the season in Cleveland as the Giants.
Cleveland has had eleven professional baseball teams in the NNL. According to Case Western Reserve University, the Giants were the eighth team formed in Cleveland’s history. They joined the league mid-season and became the first Black professional team to play at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp team is under the same ownership as the RubberDucks. Jacksonville Red Caps, the Negro League team in the area, also ended up in Northeast Ohio.
The Red Caps were initially founded by a group of Black train station employees who worked as porters, known as red caps, and played together when they were off duty.
In 1937, the Red Caps had their debut in Jacksonville, Florida. Two years later, they moved to Cleveland and became the Bears. Much like the Giants, the team called Cleveland Municipal Stadium home.
Shining light on a piece of history
Pfander said he and the General Manager of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Harold Craw, worked together many years ago and brainstormed in Charleston, South Carolina, to tell the untold stories of NNL history.
"He was really one of the first to come up with a solute to Negro League baseball weekend in minor leagues with our team down in Charleston," Pfander said.
Pfander and Craw came across the story of an African American boy's baseball team called the Cannon Street YMCA Allstars in Charleston's history.
"They made it to the Little League World Series, but they weren't allowed to play in the game because of the color of their skin," said Pfander, "It's a tragic story, but it's a story that really resonated with the community [and] with Harold personally."
Pfander mentioned that Craw is the only African American general manager in all the minor leagues, and it was Craw's vision to turn honoring the NNL into a weekend event.
The two managers engaged with NNL players who were still alive then and got them to talk about their experiences.
"Being able to have them come to the ballpark and really tell their story, and tell what it meant to them to be recognized today in a time where they really weren't recognized and were marginalized," Pfander said.
Both general managers bought the custom jerseys for their teams and have kept the tradition going for almost a decade.
Informing the community
The RubberDucks plan to keep the Black Tyrites tradition alive and hope to expand what they've started even further with the community's help.
"I think we just have to continue to tell the story so people can celebrate the history, celebrate those that came before us and made what's possible today...possible," Pfander said.
