Here is a link to the original story on the team's website.
In honor of Black History Month and to help share the story of Negro League Baseball in Akron, the Akron RubberDucks will change their social media profile pictures to logos inspired by the Akron Black Tyrites for all of February.
The Akron Black Tyrites were a member of the Negro National League in 1933. The club began that year in Columbus before moving to Akron for just 10 games. The team finished the season in Cleveland as the Giants.
The name was originally supposed to be “Tyr-ites” from the British word for tire, “tyre,” but the name soon became “Ty-rites” to match Akronites.
The team played their games at Akron’s League Park, which was a $135,000 ballpark constructed in 1928 on property at Crosier Street, Park Avenue, and Long Street.
Since the team only played a small number of games in Akron, only a few photos of the front of the uniform jersey appeared when the RubberDucks front office staff began research. To celebrate and honor the original Akron Black Tyrites, the RubberDucks created logos and uniforms in a style the team might have worn in 1933. These designs and new uniforms were created and planned to be unveiled during the 2020 season to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Negro League Baseball.
However, the cancelled 2020 season pushed the re-debut of the Akron Black Tyrites until September 2, 2021. In a game against the Altoona Curve, the RubberDucks became the Akron Black Tyrites and took a combined no-hitter into the ninth inning before yielding a hit with two outs. Akron completed a one-hit shutout to defeat Altoona, 5-0.
The RubberDucks will honor the Black Tyrites in future seasons by wearing the uniforms for special games.
To help the RubberDucks celebrate and share the story of the Akron Black Tyrites, you can preorder your own Akron Black Tyrites merchandise by visiting https://bit.ly/3ue7ntl.
The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks season is powered by FirstEnergy at Canal Park, with the home opener April 12, 2022, against the Reading Fightin Phils at 7:05 PM. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 330-253-5151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or visit akronrubberducks.com/. For more information about the team, please call 330-253-5151, visit the website at akronrubberducks.com, Facebook page facebook.com/AkronRubberDucks, or on Twitter @AkronRubberDuck, and Instagram @akronrubberducks.