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Black-owned start-up company, Steelo Sports has made history by becoming the first modern-day Black-owned baseball glove brand used in a Major League Baseball game. Toronto Blue Jays’ recent call-up Jonathan Davis got the start in center field against the Tampa Bay Rays was spotted wearing his custom pro model Steelo glove.

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Steve Friend the founder of Steelo Sports, said “it’s our goal to not only become the first modern-day African American owned glove brand to be used in Major League Baseball but to also bring long overdue awareness to minority players that consistently represent such a small percentage of the professional baseball population. It’s important to bring back the hip-hop flavor, style, and energy of the 80’s and 90’s when baseball’s golden years produced players like Bo Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Shawon Dunston, Deion Sanders, Kevin Mitchell, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Ozzie Smith, Frank Thomas, Andre Dawson, Gary Sheffield, the list goes on. That’s what “Steelo” means. That’s what it’s about. These are the guys that made me love the game. Bringing back that style and uniqueness that only hip-hop culture can bring just needs to happen. So I decided to stop waiting and to just do it.”

MLB does have youth initiatives all across the country but Friend believes there is an opportunity for baseball to market and attract more urban and minority players. “This is an area that is extremely lacking and that needs help. The golden years had buzz, marketing, commercials, and visual advertising presence for all of the superstar players of that generation,” said Friend according to PRWeb.com. “The NFL and NBA do a great job of making visual messaging relevant to these communities, and it’s important for baseball and MLB to do the same by both investing in and partnering with urban brand building initiatives both physically and visually. We aim to bring that to the table.”

Steelo Sports has been signing a few pro players to equipment contracts across minor league levels and now at the MLB level.

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“Honestly, the best thing about the brand is that it’s authentic! I played college and pro baseball as a minority, know the grind, know the struggle, and have now put my years in off of the field and learned the corporate sporting goods and digital commerce business side of things post-playing career. All my Steelo players understand that, are into it, share the same grind, passion, flavor for the game and for the culture. They know what the plan is and have joined this movement to be a part of something different with some real purpose Friend said. At the end of the day, the product is top of the line dope. We are helping youth baseball programs, building a strong team of like-minded people, and are all pushing for the same goal while having fun being a part of the game we all love. That’s what it’s about. We want to spread that love and open more doors.”

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