A strobogrammatic number -- and I know I don’t need to tell you this -- looks the same when rotated 180 degrees (when it’s upside down, in other words). Most of the sexagenarians among us were able to enjoy a strobogrammatic year in 1961, but the next one won’t occur until 6009. No one reading this is likely to be alive on that distant date, so let’s enjoy the strobogrammatic wherever we can find it. Welcome to the 96th edition of the Ben’s Biz Beat Newsletter. Let’s talk about Minor League Baseball.
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WASHINGTON STATE ROYALTY: SPOKANE INDIANS PAY TRIBUTE TO KING CARL
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Some Minor League alternate identities are self-evident, while others have a significant backstory that requires no small amount of explanation. The Spokane Indians’ King Carl identity, released earlier this week, falls into the latter camp and is all the better for it.
The Indians -- High-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies -- will suit up as King Carl on two occasions during the 2024 season. The crisp, retro-style uniforms feature a red, black and gold color scheme, with the primary logo depicting a crown-bedecked boxing glove. It’s all a tribute to Spokane’s own Carl Maxey, who overcame a difficult childhood enroute to becoming a boxing champion, lawyer and civil rights leader.
“He was quite the person in this area back in the day, and his name has lived on,” said Spokane Indians senior vice president Otto Klein. “His family is still in the Spokane area. His son has a law firm, and his grandson is part of the law firm. We started looking into more about his life, asking how we could celebrate him and be a part of [Minor League Baseball Black baseball initiative] The Nine, and be a part of integrating into the Black community better than we have in the past. This just made perfect sense.”
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Maxey, born in Tacoma, Wash., in 1924, was orphaned at 2 years old and adopted by a family in Spokane. His adoptive father left the family and his adoptive mother died shortly thereafter, leading to Maxey's placement in a Spokane orphanage that later forced him into a juvenile detention center after enacting a policy that prohibited having Black children in their care. A Jesuit priest, Father Cornelius E. Byrne intervened and brough Maxey and a classmate to Sacred Heart Mission in Idaho.
Byrne’s mentorship proved to be invaluable. Maxey went on to excel academically and athletically, earning his “King Carl” moniker after leading Gonzaga University to the 1950 NCAA boxing championship (he went 32-0 in his collegiate career). In 1951 he became the first Black man to graduate from the Gonzaga School of Law, and from there went on to a distinguished 46-year career as a trial lawyer and civil rights leader. As the Indians put it in their press release, “Maxey tackled controversial cases, represented conscientious objectors and championed social justice until his passing in 1997.”
The King Carl logos and uniforms were exclusively debuted in the March 3 edition of The Black Lens, a Spokane-based publication dedicated to issues affecting the Black community. The project was a long time coming, with its genesis credited to a local community leader who helped found both The Black Lens and the Carl Maxey Center.
“Sandy Williams was an activist in this community,” said Klein. “When we reached out to her, she was the foremost leader, the pulse of, the Black community. She was uniting everybody in the Black community with this concept in mind and then, tragically, she passed away [in] a plane accident. … We carried this on for Sandy. We carried it on for Carl. A portion of the merchandise that we sell will go to the Sandy Williams Fund for the Carl Maxey Center. That makes it double rewarding.”
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The Indians worked with San Diego-based studio Brandiose to create the King Carl logo, which is laden with symbolism. The colors on the points of the crown allude to the colors of Black history month; a tassel hanging from the crown denotes Maxey’s academic achievements; the laces of the glove resemble Maxey’s C.M. initials; the thumb of the glove includes the Indians feather logo and the top of the glove is stitched like a baseball.
In short: A fittingly deep representation of a deep subject, one whose legacy the Indians are now dedicated to promoting. Klein said that, as the months progress, the team and Black community leaders will brainstorm ways to celebrate Maxey at the ballpark and beyond.
“We call it the virtuous circle,” said Klein. “You put out an alternate identity like this. People like it and it creates noise. Buy merchandise and a portion of the merchandise goes to the [Carl Maxey Center] fund. And then the fund can give back to the community, and that’s what creates news. And then when you get the news, people are inspired to get the [merchandise] again.
“So, we want to make sure this virtuous circle keeps rolling.”
READ THE SPOKANE INDIANS BALLPARK GUIDE HERE
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Ben was building momentum, but we're entering into a new development. This is Josh Jackson, host of Ghost of the Minors, the segment on The Show Before the Show podcast in which you must identity the real historical Minor League Baseball team or player hidden among two frauds.
Last time, we literally and literarily celebrated the Fitzgerald A's. This week, I ask you which of these players were stars in the Minors a long, long time ago:
A. Hans Solor
B. Prince Leiter
C. Elmer Yoter
For the answer, check out the next Ghosts of the Minors on The Show Before the Show!
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READER OF THE WEEK: AARON KIN |
Let’s keep with the Spokane Indians theme. Aaron works at a summer camp and lives 60 miles from Spokane, but always makes the time to visit Avista Stadium. He writes:
My Minor League Baseball tradition started with the Spokane Indians back in 2010. We have attended games every year since, and my mother-in-law purchased a mini season pass starting in 2016 (at first this was seven games with the short season, and now 11 with the long season).
Avista Stadium is a wonderful facility, and the only facility I have ever attended a game at. I do not have any future road trip plans to see other teams; my busiest time of year is the summer. It is, however, a priority of our family to schedule our 11 Indians games and we thoroughly enjoy every one of them, win or lose.
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I only visited Avista Stadium once, in 2016, and let me tell you: It’s great, a true classic. I wrote all about it in Ben’s Biz Blog.
And, once again, check out the Spokane Indians Ballpark Guide HERE.
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IF YOU THINK MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM NAMES ARE WEIRD… |
Well, summer-collegiate team names are even weirder. Danville, Va., has long been home to an Appalachian League team. That team, formerly the Braves, was rebranded as the Otterbots prior to the 2021 season. In 2024 the Otterbots will share a ballpark with a new summer-collegiate league team, operating out of the Old North State League: The Danville Dairy Daddies. The mascot is named McCreamy, and the team reports that it will compete on a field of creams. I will refrain from making jokes.
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OK, that’s all I’ve got for you this time around. As always, get in touch at benjamin.hill@mlb.com. And, as always, thanks for reading. |
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