By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com
Logan Wiening grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind., proud of his hometown.
Out of his pride and love for the diamond came Old Fort Baseball Co. The self-taught graphic designer started the business in the summer of 2021.
There are now more than 30 products and designs that appear on T-shirts, caps and stickers.
And the list keeps growing.
“I try to keep it fresh and keep ideas coming,” says Wiening. “When I started as a sports fan from Fort Wayne I never saw anything sports-related.
“People are drawn to an appealing design.”
Wiening saw a hole in the market and filled it with nods to former teams like the Fort Wayne Kekiongas (which played in the first professional league game in 1971), Fort Wayne Wizards (the team that played at The Castle and pre-dates the Fort Wayne TinCaps), General Electric Voltmen (a local semi-pro team), Fort Wayne Colored Giants (who played in the first half of the 20th Century), Fort Wayne Daisies (an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League club and a big seller), Elmhurst Little League (established in 1954) and more.
“I want to celebrate Fort Wayne’s baseball history and it’s past, present and future,” says Wiening. “I’m into retro-type logos. The old Wizards logo has a nostalgic meaning for me. But I can appreciate almost any logo for what it is.”
Wiening, 28, collected baseball cards as a boy and could recite stats at age 6. He played the sport until about 13 and was a basketball player in high school.
He graduated from Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger High School in 2013 and earned a Business and Marketing degree at Purdue Fort Wayne in 2017.
Including an internship, Wiening spent six years with the NBA G-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, doing sales, marketing and design.
He worked in the Purdue Fort Wayne athletic department for three years and is now a marketing strategist at Fort Wayne-based Franklin Electric.
Wiening also does free lance work. Clients include PFW, Fort Wayne FC soccer, local high schools and businesses and has designed logos for college athletes.
Brand ambassadors include Carroll High School graduate and professional catcher Hayden Jones (Cincinnati Reds organization) and pro pitcher Garrett Schoenle (Chicago White Sox system) plus East Noble High School graduate and Indiana University freshman Brayden Risedorph, Homestead alum and University of Dayton freshman Caden Tarango, Dwenger graduate and University of Saint Francis sophomore Sam Pesa and Dwenger alum and Indiana Tech freshman Kasen Oribello.
“I have a long list of long-term opportunities and ideas,” says Wiening, who sees Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons softball as a future design possibility. “I’m into really telling the story of what that team was.”
Wiening sponsors Jayce Riegling’s The JKR Podcast and has partnered on other Riegling projects.
Support Local Baseball is a line that has done well on a national basis with orders going out to nearly 20 states so far.
Winning won’t put any design or wording on just any product.
“There has to be a reason behind what we’re doing,” says Wiening. “We want to tie it to the community.”
Besides The JKR Podcast, Wiening has been a guest on several other podcasts including Ballpark Hunter, The Baseball Bucket List, Baseball By Design and Earned Fun Average.
Logan and wife Megan reside in Fort Wayne.
www.IndianaRBI.com 