So long, Tom Brady. New Rays skater uniform inspires replacement mural.
A new mural on a St. Petersburg wall that once held an image of quarterback Tom Brady has been painted over in favor of the Rays new skateboard-themed City Connect image and uniforms.
Major League Baseball and Nike introduced the City Connect series during the 2021 season to shake up uniform design across the sport with home-game uniforms that express the personality of the team’s home city. The Rays raised eyebrows this week, unveiling a bright, eye-catching nod to the area’s counterculture scene with a focus on skateboarding, tattoos and alternative culture.
In conjunction with that, the new mural inspired by the City Connect uniforms was unveiled at 31st Street and Fifth Avenue North in St. Petersburg. The Vitale Bros., a well-regarded graffiti and tattoo-influenced art outfit, were hired by the Rays to create an image of the counterculture denizens who are also Rays fans.
“I think they nailed it with City Connect,” said Johnny Vitale, who works with a team to create their signature pieces of street art. “It’s an opportunity to bring us together in one common sport that is open to different cultures and subcultures. You are saying, ‘Hey we see you,’ and who knows? We may see them back.”
There are a lot of Easter eggs to be found in the mural, which is on the side of the Griner Engineering building.
The young woman on the right has a bright aqua blue streak in her hair, similar to the original Devil Rays uniform colors. Her arm is lined with tattoos that tell a story.
The tattoo of 813 (Tampa’s area code) on her arm is an ode to Tampa “because they are trying to unite the cities together with this team,” Vitale said. The “mom” in a heart is a shout-out to his mother, who died.
The bottom of her skateboard sports the original Devil Rays logo, local entertainer DJ Fresh and an anchor entwined with the trucks of a skateboard. That is a call-out to Anchor Skate Supply, the skateboard shop just a few blocks from Tropicana Field that often sees its customers using the stadium parking lot for practice. The logo for Griner Engineering rides her shoulder.
The man on the left is a combination of two of St. Petersburg’s best Black skateboarders, Vitale said. He has a 727 (the Pinellas area code) tattoo and is wearing a shirt with three palm trees — the marker sign at Tampa’s Perry Harvey Sr. Park, home of the historic Bro Bowl skate park. The bottom of his skateboard has the logo for the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood. And there’s a space alien, the trademark of St. Petersburg artist and pro skateboarder Kris Markovich.
“When I saw that the inspiration was all about alternative culture, street art, tattoos and skating, I didn’t have to think too hard to come up with this,” Vitale said. “This ownership group has impressed me with their openness to think outside of the box.”
The Rays must have been impressed too. Vitale is scheduled to throw the first pitch on Saturday as the Rays take on the New York Mets.
