KANSAS CITY, Mo. 鈥� J.P. Crawford can still remember the first time he put on the Seattle Steelheads uniform.
It was June 18, 2021, as part of a pregame photo shoot along with Shed Long Jr., Taylor Trammell and Justin Dunn to promote the game being played June 19. As part of a Juneteenth celebration, the Mariners brought back the throwback uniforms of the short-lived Negro League team that played one season (1946) at Sicks' Stadium in Seattle.
"I think we should make wearing these uniforms a more regular thing for what they stand for,鈥� Crawford said at the time. 鈥淣ot just us, but everyone in baseball.鈥�
The Mariners did that this season. After wearing them once a year over the past four seasons, they made the Steelheads uniform their official alternate fit, wearing them for Sunday home games. They became the first team to adopt Negro Leagues uniform as part of their main and limited rotation.
A few hours before at Kauffman Stadium, Crawford presented the updated version of the Steelheads jersey with his autograph on the No. 3 to Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
It was the jersey worn by Crawford on March 29 at T-Mobile Park when the Mariners debuted their old but new alternate home uniforms.
Besides Crawford's jersey, which will hang in the Hall of Fame, manager Dan Wilson presented Kendrick with a check for $25,000 from the Mariners Care Foundation as a donation to the museum in support of its Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center.聽
"It means everything," Crawford said. "I can't thank our organization enough for continuing to honor the Negro Leagues, and just so proud to wear that jersey every Sunday."
Crawford often keeps his game jerseys from meaningful games. In that June 19 game in 2021, he hit a grand slam while wearing the Steelheads uniform.
"That jersey is already in my backpack to take home," he said after the game.
While Kendrick was pleased with the donation, he was ecstatic that the Mariners have adopted the Steelheads uniform as their own.
"I want to thank the Mariners for their continued generosity and support of the museum," Kendrick said. "Thank you all so much for the game-worn jersey. We will cherish that piece, and thank you all for honoring the Negro Leagues in an unprecedented way by wearing those uniforms every home game on Sundays. That means a great deal to all of us at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. And I'm just thrilled that you guys are so proud to be a part of the heritage of the game, particularly as it relates to Seattle and the Negro Leagues."
Kendrick didn't know that the Mariners were going to go to the Steelheads uniforms this season.
"I found out when the Mariners made the announcement, and to be honest, it was pretty emotional for me, because I was just beaming with pride," he said. "I thought that this was just the coolest thing ever. It is unprecedented, and even though the team only played there briefly, for the club to recognize and embrace the heritage of the game there in Seattle, it means a great deal. And it is a beautiful uniform."