Announcing the Inaugural City Kid Classic Baseball Game at the Field of Dreams
Grit Clothing Company to Host Baseball Game at the Field of Dreams for Chicago’s “City Kids”
The inaugural City Kid Classic game to be held on May 26th, in Dyersville, IA, at 7pm and will feature two little league teams from the Chicago area.
Chicago, IL— January, 2022 — Grit Clothing Company, a Chicago-based clothing brand, announced their plans to offer 30 Chicagoland little leaguers with the once-in-a-lifetime experience to play a baseball game on the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. The company has committed to cover the cost of the event, including field rental, uniforms, and equipment for the players. “Our brand’s mission has always been to give back to where we grew up. We’re also pretty big baseball fans, so we thought that combining our mission with our love for baseball would create a great experience for all involved,” said Joe Wodark, Co-Founder of Grit Clothing Company.
An Authentic Baseball Experience Produced by an Authentic Chicago Brand
Grit Clothing Company prides itself on the authenticity of its Chicago-themed clothing designs. Their most popular t-shirt includes two green intersecting Chicago street signs that are customizable by their patrons, often whom, are current and former residents of Chicago. “We want to produce a truly memorable and authentic experience for these kids, so we’re focusing on details like using vintage uniforms, wood bats and selling hotdogs for a penny during the game,” said Mike Vaickus, co-founder of Grit Clothing Company.
To assemble the two teams, the company has invited its social media followers to nominate players from the Chicagoland area, kids between 7-9 years old. So far, they’ve received video nominations for players representing every corner of Chicago, including some notable inner-city baseball programs like Clear-Ridge, Jackie Robinson West, Canaryville Little League and West Englewood. The nomination campaign runs through February 4th.
Support from Other Local Organizations
To produce the event, Grit has enlisted the help of other Chicago-based organizations. “Since our launch four years ago, we’ve been fortunate to get the support from like-minded organizations within the community that have bought in to our mission and this event is no different, “said Joe Wodark. “For example, Joey's Red Hots in Morgan Park is donating the hotdogs for the game and Marcus Nettles, a two-time NCAA Baseball National Champion, fellow south sider and founder of the Marcus Nettles Project, is coaching one of our teams.”
The company has already secured several sponsorship and advertising deals with local companies who want to be a part of the event. Leading up to the game, Grit will be re-launching their “City Kid” apparel line, which was one of their most popular designs to date. “People often ask why we, a Chicago clothing brand, are producing a little league baseball game in the middle 3 of Iowa, and our answer is surprisingly simple: because giving city kids a chance to experience something new would be cool and very special,” said Vaickus.