On June 20, the St. Louis Cardinals faced off against the San Francisco Giants at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, in a tribute to the Negro Leagues and to the country’s oldest ballpark.
To celebrate the moment, Fox Sports partnered with Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Váscolo to create animated spots that paid homage both to the venue and to the legendary players who hit, ran and fielded there.
The above spot featured nine legendary Major League Baseball players, seven of whom played in the Negro Leagues as well as in the majors: Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. It also mentions the Birmingham Black Barons, an all-Black team that played at Rickwood from 1920 to 1960 and was part of MLB for 18 seasons. Each player – and the Barons – got their own introduction card in the spot above, highlighting something special or dropping a relevant fact.
Each player sketch had to be approved by the player’s family so it was crucial to draw their likenesses accurately, said Váscolo Executive Creative Director Martin Schurmann on the company’s website. Each player is drawn either wearing their Negro League uniform or that of the MLB team for which they played.
The font was inspired by two styles from the time, blending a typeface that was used in the players’ locker room with a script-like font that references how team names were written on player jerseys.
The palette is largely red, white and blue, but the spot also features browns, greens and yellows.
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