Shining at the major league level

WINDOW ROCK – Window Rock Fighting Scouts blue, Tuba City Warriors green, and Alchesay Falcons white-and-gold will soon be repped on exclusive Arizona Diamondbacks hats.

Ryan Allison is an art director for Homeland, an Indigenous-owned and operated apparel company based in Phoenix.

Homelands founder Ty LodgePole and Allison collaborated with Hat Club, a Tempe-based sports hat retailer, to share the grit and grind of Navajo Nation baseball and softball programs with Arizona’s major league club.

On March 10, Hat Club will host a pop-up market at Many Worlds in Phoenix, where the colors of Window Rock, Tuba City, and Alchesay high schools will appear on three different Diamondback hats. According to Allison, only 30 will be available in each hat color.

The hats will be $52.

“We wanted to offer the hats to the community as a whole, including ones like myself who reside in Phoenix and may not get to see each Scout game,” said Allison. “Though it’s not ideal for folks to travel hours to purchase a hat, we wanted to accommodate by possibly having it during spring break time, hopefully allowing time for folks to catch a spring training game and grab a new hat.”

In November, Allison and LodgePole pitched the idea of paying homage to Navajo Nation schools by using their school colors on the Diamondbacks logo.
“Being that it’s baseball season and it’s spring training down in Phoenix, we thought it would be appropriate,” said Allison.

Allison is from Fort Defiance. Allison is Tséńjíkiní and born for Táchii’nii. His maternal grandfather is Tótsohnii, and his paternal grandfather is Kinyaa’áanii.

LodgePole is from Fort Defiance. LodgePole is Tséńjíkiní and born for Tódích’íi’nii. His maternal grandfather is Táchii’nii, and his paternal grandfather is Tábaahá.

Allison and LodgePole are from Fort Defiance, so they chose their home school. Tuba City and Alchesay wanted to ensure that neighboring communities like Hopi and Apache were also represented.
However, these three schools are likely the beginning of paying tribute to Navajo Nation baseball and softball programs.

Allison and LodgePole looked at all 22 tribes in Arizona and found reservation schools that had closed or didn’t have a baseball and softball program.

Within the last week, Allison traveled between the three schools to shoot promotional media for the hats’ launch.

Allison stood on the sidelines of practices and was happy to see the young athletes joke around and enjoy a sport.

“I had a straight-up baseball family,” said Allison. “Every single summer, I traveled with the same kids and families and to capture that kind of camaraderie among baseball and softball teams. It’s extremely precious to me.”

From the age of five to 18, Allison played baseball, playing second base and left field. He loved the sport and eventually played for Window Rock High School.

But Allison’s joy for baseball didn’t start with him. It’s been a generational love, as his uncles and grandfathers had all been a part of the baseball scene, whether playing or coaching.

“Since the ’80s, all the way back to the Fort Defiance Indians back in like the mid-80s, that’s how long my family’s been a part of the Fort Defiance baseball community,” said Allison.

Allison hopes to see more of the Indigenous community come together to support their high school baseball and softball teams. He knows it can happen just by seeing the support for the Scouts at the 3A North Girls high school basketball tournament.

Over 13 years of playing, Allison saw all eyes on basketball. Now, being able to give back, he and LodgePole wanted to make sure the baseball and softball programs are recognized, as well as the Indigenous athletes in those programs.
Window Rock High School’s softball coach, Karen Tom, watched her players continue to practice like they usually would: music blaring, sweat dripping, and players laughing. Allison also captured that feeling to show who is behind the Window Rock High-colored Diamondbacks hat.

Tom and Allison talked about times when baseball and softball were overlooked, not just in viewing but also in funding for the programs throughout their years in baseball and softball.

“We’re fresh off the basketball season, and a lot of the attention is on the basketball season and teams, so this collaboration he’s (Allison) working on, he wanted to put the spotlight on these baseball and softball teams,” said Tom.
Allison mostly stayed on the sidelines to capture the players’ usual practice but was able to pull players aside wearing the Window Rock Scouts’ colored hat.

Tom saw the players having fun and knew that practice would be a great memory as the players munched on nachos, sunflower seeds, and popcorn in the stands and dugout.

Tom believes that seeing high school Indigenous baseball and softball teams represented through a Major League Baseball team shows the players that they are important, too.

“No one sport should outshine the other,” said Tom as she thought about the grit and grind of her softball players.

Tom understands the popularity of basketball within the Navajo community but, similarly to Allison, wants to see the same support for the athletes in baseball and softball.

“I want to prove to everyone we’re pros at community,” said Allison.

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