Arkansas-based?Mariners affiliate to honor legacy of the Little Rock Nine

The Little Rock Nine sounds like it could be the name of a baseball team playing in Arkansas' capital city, and for three nights during the 2025 season, it will be. The story behind the name transcends baseball, however. From Aug. 21-23, the Arkansas Travelers -- Seattle's Double-A affiliate -- will commemorate a tumultuous and ultimately triumphant moment in Civil Rights history.

In 1957, Little Rock was at the center of a social and political maelstrom. A group of Black high school students -- the Little Rock Nine -- enrolled at Little Rock Central High School in an attempt to desegregate the school system. The state's powers-that-be prevented the students from entering the building, utilizing the Arkansas National Guard to do so, thus necessitating a federal intervention. The students and the network of Black activists that supported them persevered through the prolonged and terrifying ordeal, and today they are recognized as heroes.

The Travelers' Little Rock Nine identity is fittingly part of Minor League Baseball's The Nine, an initiative promoting Black baseball and culture named after the number Jackie Robinson wore during his lone Minor League season in 1946.

"It felt like an amazing opportunity to honor the Little Rock Nine. From the name of the program to nine players on a baseball field, there were so many different connections," Travelers general manager Sophie Ozier said. "We've been working on the logo and the look of it for a while, but tracking down someone with the Little Rock Nine was not so easy."

Seven members of the Little Rock Nine are still living, now in their 80s. The Travelers eventually made contact with Carlotta Walls (LaNier), the youngest of the group, who was 14 when she began attending Central High and graduated in 1960 (the same year in which her family's home was bombed by segregationist terrorists).

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"When I called [Walls] to tell her about this, she was so pumped and excited, telling me that she was a big baseball fan growing up," Ozier said. "One of them [Thelma Mothershed-Wair] passed last year and a couple live out of the country and they're older, so we don't want them to travel if they're not comfortable with it.

¡°When I began high school back in the fall of 1957 -- entering Central High School accompanied by over a thousand members of the 101st Airborne -- I never could have anticipated or even imagined what being one of the Nine would come to mean for the rest of my life,¡± Walls said in the Travelers' press release. ¡°And here we are, 68 years later, and our team of nine is being celebrated by another team of nine, the Arkansas Travelers, the hometown team! This is another unexpected honor that will be exciting to see and participate in.¡±

The Travelers intentionally set the Little Rock Nine unveiling for Feb. 17, as the third Monday of February is Daisy Bates Day in the state of Arkansas. Bates was an activist, newspaper publisher and president of the NAACP's Arkansas chapter which played a key role in advising the Little Rock Nine and fighting for their cause. The logos were created by the Little Rock-based design firm Eric Rob & Isaac.

"We went with black and gold, because that's Little Rock Central [High School] colors," Ozier said. "The LR logo is one we've used for a long time, a strong and traditional logo in our community, and we subtly added an ode to the Little Rock Nine by adding the number nine."

The nine, in gold, pops out from what otherwise would have been blank space within the "R." It's a thoughtful touch, presaging a weekend that promises to be full of memorable moments.

"We have [the weekend] broken up into three different parts," said Ozier, mentioning plans to honor Central High and Local HBCUs in addition to the Little Rock Nine. "Another thing worth mentioning is that all of the jersey [auction] proceeds go to the Little Rock Nine Foundation, which works closely with the Clinton School of Public Service here. So we'll have some scholarships that are created through that as well."

More details regarding the Little Rock Nine will be announced throughout the Travelers' 2025 season, which kicks off on the road against the Midland RockHounds on April 4.