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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Akron Wingfoots by resurrecting the team’s inaugural jersey from 1918 and producing a limited run of 100 throwback replicas for fans. The replicas are the oldest throwback basketball jersey available to the public.
Available now through Nov. 30 through a special sweepstakes promotion on Wingfoots100.com, the anniversary throwbacks are imprinted with the original 1918 Wingfoots logo and pay homage to Goodyear’s long-standing basketball heritage.
“Our connection to basketball over the past century is a distinctive part of Goodyear’s heritage and a source of pride for our associates, our former players and basketball fans everywhere,” said Todd Macsuga, general manager of brand marketing at Goodyear. “These unique throwback jerseys are an authentic way to honor that rich tradition.”
Founded as a recreational team by Goodyear associates to test the rubber soles of athletic shoes, the Wingfoots became one of the earliest professional basketball teams in America and a former champion of the National Basketball League (NBL). The Wingfoot remains an important symbol in basketball today as Goodyear’s official logo that appears on the Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys as part of the team partnership.
Goodyear also celebrated the century milestone ahead of the Cavaliers home opener on Sunday, Oct. 21, by unveiling two life-sized tire sculptures of a 1918 Wingfoots player in historic attire next to a 2018 Cavs player. The sculptures were handcrafted by tire artist Blake McFarland, who used more than 200 Goodyear-branded tires and took more than 400 hours to complete. The sculptures will be on display in the concourse at Quicken Loans Arena throughout the 2018-2019 basketball season.
More information about the history of the Akron Wingfoots and the retro jersey sweepstakes is available at Wingfoots100.com. No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes and it’s void where prohibited.