February 1, 2026
Seattle Mariners are honoring Negro Leagues’ 1946 Steelheads by carrying duplicate uniforms on Sundays.
Major League Baseball organizations in Kansas City and Seattle are spotlighting the legacy of the Negro Leagues by means of expanded entry, historic tributes and new neighborhood investments tied to Black History Month.
In Kansas City, the Royals Foundation will once more cowl admission prices to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) for your entire month of February. The program marks the fifth straight yr the muse has sponsored free entry, an effort initially launched to honor Black History Month and improve public engagement with the museum.
The NLBM, based in 1990, is the nation’s solely museum devoted solely to preserving and celebrating the historical past of African-American baseball and its broader affect on American society. Located in Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine Jazz District, the museum sits simply blocks from the Paseo YMCA, the place Andrew “Rube” Foster fashioned the Negro National League in 1920.
“We can’t thank the Kansas City Royals and The Royals Foundation sufficient for as soon as once more opening the doorways of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum freed from cost for your entire month of February and we sit up for seeing the turnstiles spinning,” mentioned NLBM president Bob Kendrick. He famous that the initiative makes the museum extra accessible, particularly for college students from underserved communities, whereas encouraging guests to study from athletes who overcame “super social adversity to play the sport they beloved.”
Since this system started in 2022, greater than 50,000 individuals have visited the museum throughout Free February, in response to the Royals. The basis’s complete contribution tied to the initiative now exceeds $435,000.
Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman referred to as the trouble a pure match for the group. “That establishment – we predict it’s an essential story that must be instructed, far and broad,” Sherman mentioned. “It’s a fairly easy factor for us to do.” He added that the Royals’ broader investments within the surrounding neighborhood and assist for the museum’s enlargement made driving attendance “the correct factor to do.”
The museum will prolong its hours all through February, opening day by day with earlier and weekend entry to accommodate elevated attendance.
On the West Coast, the Seattle Mariners announced a separate however complementary tribute. Beginning within the 2026 season, the membership will put on duplicate uniforms honoring the 1946 Seattle Steelheads for Sunday house video games. The change replaces the cream-colored Sunday uniforms the staff has worn since 2015 and makes Seattle the primary MLB franchise to include a Negro Leagues uniform into its common rotation.
The Mariners are additionally launching the Steelheads Community Fund, committing $500,000 to assist Black-led baseball and softball applications and associated neighborhood initiatives.
“We are proud to honor our recreation’s historical past and put money into the way forward for our neighborhood with Steelheads Sundays at T-Mobile Park,” mentioned Kevin Martinez, the Mariners’ president of enterprise operations. “Through the Steelheads Community Fund, we’ll have fun the legacy of the Steelheads, whereas persevering with our long-standing effort to advance entry to baseball and softball and well-being for underserved communities in our area.”
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