Drillers Uniforms to Feature Special Patches to Help Raise Awareness of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial

The Tulsa Drillers, in conjunction with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, have announced plans to wear a special patch during the first month of the 2021 season to raise awareness and encourage Drillers fans to educate themselves about the massacre while honoring its victims and their families.

The Drillers received permission from Major League Baseball to feature the patch on the fronts of their home jerseys. It will be located just above the Drillers logo that runs across the jersey fronts.

The Drillers will wear the jerseys for all home games during the month of May. At the conclusion of the month, the jerseys will be available for purchase using an auction process. Proceeds will benefit the programs and operations of the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center (“Greenwood Rising”), currently under construction. Greenwood Rising will be a state-of-the-art history center located at the southeast corner of Greenwood Avenue & Archer Street, the gateway to “Black Wall Street.” This museum-grade facility will showcase all aspects of Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District, triumph, tragedy, and everything in between, from its origins to the present day.

Phil Armstrong, Project Director for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, shared his excitement about the added exposure the uniform patch will bring.

“Having this logo on the Tulsa Drillers jerseys gives us the opportunity to enlighten and educate baseball fans who may have thought they were just out for a day at the ballpark,” said Armstrong. “We are loading the bases for awareness of Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District, a history of tragedy and triumph, punctuated by reminders about the indomitable human spirit, in this space the Tulsa Drillers call home.”

The Drillers have called Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District home since moving to ONEOK Field for the 2010 season.

“We are honored and fortunate to have our home, ONEOK Field, in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District,” said Drillers General Manager Mike Melega. “The ability to wear these special patches is a small way that the Drillers organization can help to raise awareness of the tragic events that took place in 1921. We appreciate the willingness of Phil Armstrong and the other members of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission to give us this opportunity.”

The jerseys with the patches will not be the only commemorative attire for the Drillers during the upcoming season. In honor of this year’s Juneteenth celebration, the Drillers players will wear throwback T-Town Clowns jerseys for three games, June 11-13. The T-Town Clowns, a popular team from the historic Negro Baseball Leagues era, played in Tulsa for many years.

The Drillers first wore replicas of the T-Town Clowns original jerseys during the 2011 season. The jerseys from this year will also be sold through an auction process, with those proceeds going to the Lacy Park baseball field renovation project. The original baseball diamond at Lacy Park, located at 2134 N. Madison Place, served as the home of the T-Town Clowns from 1952 through 1965.

Earlier this year, the Drillers and the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce announced plans for a large, Jackie Robinson mural to be added to the back of one of the historic Greenwood buildings that faces ONEOK Field. Work on the permanent mural has just been completed.

To purchase a Tulsa Race Massacre commemorative patch click HERE. 20% of the proceeds from the patch sales will go to the Greenwood Rising Cultural Center.