Franklin Sports, headquartered in Massachusetts, got a visit from Governor Charlie Baker during a ceremony announcing a new partnership between the global sporting goods company and The BASE, a pioneering urban baseball and college prep program based in Roxbury, MA.
Gov. Baker said the agreement – which includes donated baseball equipment, product testing, tournament sponsorship, travel team naming rights, professional-day visits and future employment opportunities – represents “two wonderful Massachusetts organizations getting together to share a love of baseball.” In joining forces, Baker said, the two bring their complementary skills to a shared goal of using baseball to help guide inner-city youth towards a better, more productive future.
Also on hand for the ceremony were BASE founder and CEO Robert Lewis Jr., along with members of his staff and several BASE student-athletes; Franklin Sports President and CEO Larry Franklin; company vice-president Adam Franklin; and many of the employees who work at Franklin Sports’ Stoughton facility.
In addition to sending scores of its graduates on a low-cost path to college – to date, The BASE has raised more than $30 million in pledged scholarships – the program fields championship-level baseball teams. The BASE also provides free college tours, health screening, SAT prep courses, workshops in essay writing and public speaking, and other academic support services.
For the partnership agreement, Franklin Sports will become the lead sponsor of The BASE’s Boston Urban Baseball Showcase tournament, taking place Aug. 3-7. Franklin Sports will also use The BASE and its Roxbury facility, batting cages and all, to test out new equipment. Feedback from ballplayers and coaches will help determine which product designs are produced and marketed, according to Franklin Sports officials.
BASE student-athletes will also have an opportunity to participate in professional days at company headquarters – and possibly pursue employment opportunities there in the future. “Our student-athletes are here thinking they could work here, too,” said Lewis. For them and others like them, he added, “Every day is a game, and every opportunity is a classroom.”
