Orioles honor a pioneering ‘Baltimore guy’ | READER COMMENTARY

T. Rowe Patch on uniform is not only a paid sponsorship but it ought to refuel a tradition of honoring local successes.

The T. Rowe Price patch on the Orioles team jersey can be viewed as commercial sponsorship or as nothing different than the historical names Hopkins and Pratt and Meyerhoff and Lewis on local institutions (“Orioles to add T. Rowe Price patch to jersey sleeve as part of ‘multiyear’ deal,” June 10).

Price was a Baltimore guy who grew up in rural Glyndon and prior to World War II pioneered group investment with annual fees and growth-based investment. He was, in his low-key way, a giant.

Interestingly his mother’s maiden name was Black and a member of the family that started the Black and Decker Company which pioneered handheld power tools. Baltimore should honor its entrepreneurs, inventors and wealth creators because doing so inspires more to come.

I recently attended a rocking concert of doo-wop music by some descendants of Sonny Til and The Orioles, a 1947 group of Black musicians from Baltimore who are honored in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as the first vocal group in “rhythm and blues” music. Yep, that started here too.  We need to find a place to celebrate them, too.

Honoring Baltimore’s smarts and talent makes us proud and helps inspire more to happen.

— Stan Heuisler, Baltimore

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