Music City Baseball’s (MCB) Music Industry Advisors Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Willie Jones have partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Adidas, Topps Trading Cards, and the Fluent Group to launch an exclusive new series of Nashville Stars rookie cards and jerseys to honor former Negro Leagues players. Both advisors and former Negro Leagues players are featured on the cards with the advisors wearing the Nashville Stars Adidas jerseys on the front, and a description of a Negro League story or player on the back.
“The launch of these cards celebrates the players and the impact they made on the world of professional baseball,” says Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “It’s an exciting opportunity for us to share the history while expanding the museum’s support base.”
The three MCB Industry Advisors met with Kendrick to become familiar with the stories of legendary players and select a player whose history and passion resonated with them. Combs picked 18th & Vine, Brown chose Willie Mays, and Jones selected Satchel Paige. The creation and release of these baseball cards is one of Music City Baseball’s many contributions to the Negro Leagues Museum, including revenue sharing on all promotional items sold on their website. If the group is awarded a Major League franchise, their name would be the Nashville Stars which pays homage to one of the Negro Leagues teams who played in Nashville in the 1940’s.
“The great Buck O’Neil once said ‘At 18th & Vine, you couldn’t toss a baseball without hitting a musician, and you couldn’t whistle a tune without having a ballplayer join in.’ I chose this story for my card because it still rings true today–man, I love my job but it sure would be cool to trade places with a professional baseball player for a day,” Combs explains.
“The legend of Satchel is more than being one of the greatest pitchers of all time–he knew how to bring another level of energy to the game. Fans exited the stadium knowing he left everything on the field and entertained the heck out of them from start to finish. That’s what I aspire to do,” says Jones.
For this endeavor, MCB worked with The Fluent Group, an innovation venture studio that creates new concepts and content that move culture forward. The Fluent Group collaborated with illustrator Daniel Sulzberg from Danvillage Illustration to bring each of the cards to life. Sulzberg married reality with fantastical elements to present the Negro Leagues in a new way.
Both the Nashville Stars Adidas jerseys and exclusive Topps baseball cards are available for purchase now.
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