Akadema is a privately owned sporting goods manufacturing company located in

Hawthorne, New Jersey Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,791 Ringwood, New Jersey Ringwood is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,735, a decline of 493 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,228,Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

player for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. The company specializes in manufacturing

baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...

History

The first series of gloves were released in 1998 under the name "Academy." In 2000 the company experienced rapid growth when it changed its name to Akadema, moved into the old

Yoo-hoo Yoo-hoo is an American brand of chocolate-flavored beverage that was developed by Natale Olivieri in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1928 and is currently manufactured by Mott's. As of 2019, the drink is primarily made from water, high-fructose corn syru ...

factory in

Garfield, NJ Garfield is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 30,487,Ozzie Smith Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...

as the company spokesman and then

Anthony Telford Anthony Charles Telford (born March 6, 1966) is a retired professional baseball pitcher who currently works for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the third round of the 19 ...

and

Clay Bellinger Clayton Daniel Bellinger (born November 18, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played in MLB for the New York Yankees and the Anaheim Angels, winning the World Series twice as a member of the Yankees. His son, Cody, was the 2019 ...

became the first Major League Players endorsing Akadema. Kris Totten (a former

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

player for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

) joined the firm to head up sales. The company would follow up the Reptilian with the Claw, The Funnel and Spiral Lock, Tacktion Grip, The Hot Hands and the UFO Mitt to continue the companies first decade in creative sports design. The most popular of the patented glove however has been the Praying Mantis Mitt which was created with input from

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "the Kid" for his y ...

. The company crossed over into popular culture when their products appeared in

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

films such as '' Click'', '' Benchwarmers'' and the

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

remake of ''

Bad News Bears ''Bad News Bears'' is a 2005 American sports comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden, Sammi Kane Kraft and Jeffrey Tedmori. It is a remake ...

''. Akadema also has been a sponsor of

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

programs "

Pros vs Joes ''Pros vs. Joes'' was an American physical reality game show that aired on Spike from 2006 to 2010. The show featured male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against professional athletes (the "Pros"; mostly of retired male and ...

" and "DEA" second season.

Sponsorship

Akadema's most important and visible endorsement deals have been the signing of

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Lo ...

from 2004-2011 and a five-year deal with future star

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Harper played for the Wash ...

Shane Victorino Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980), nicknamed "The Flyin' Hawaiian", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodger ...

has won three

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

trophies since signing on with Akadema. Akadema's other current endorsements are with:

Bobby Jenks Robert Scott Jenks (born March 14, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox from 2005 through 2011. According to the ''Baseball Almanac'', his ...

Brandon Moss Brandon Douglas Moss (born September 16, 1983) is an Americans, American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman / designated hitter (DH). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Phil ...

, Jose Veras,

Tim Redding Timothy James Redding (born February 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and more recently the pitching coach for the Hagerstown Suns. He pitched for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, New York ...

Mark Melancon Mark David Melancon ( ; born March 28, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pi ...

Vin Mazzaro Vincent Michael "Vin" Mazzaro (born September 27, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Pitt ...

Ross Ohlendorf Curtis Ross Ohlendorf (born August 8, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, and Ci ...

Vicente Padilla Vicente de la Cruz Padilla (born September 27, 1977) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

Brandon McCarthy Brandon Patrick McCarthy (born July 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and front office executive. He is the special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in M ...

Darnell McDonald Darnell is a unisex given name and surname. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called Darnel, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean clim ...

Derek Holland Derek Lane Holland (born October 9, 1986) nicknamed "Dutch Oven", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Chicago ...

Willie Eyre William Mays Eyre (born July 21, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. Baseball career High school & college Eyre was All-State at Cyprus High School (U ...

Cameron Maybin Cameron Keith Maybin (born April 4, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida / Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Brave ...

, and

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (pronounced BREHZ-loh; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently the Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Director of Pitch ...

. Akadema also became strong within the women's fast pitch market. They have sponsored Crystl Bustos 2000-2010 and

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is an American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball ...

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

2008-2010 and are an official supplier to USA softball Olympic team and the National Pro Fast Pitch League. As the pro ranks grew, the Akadema brand spread quickly and became very popular among

and college level players. In addition to modern gloves, Akadema introduced the Hoboken Collection, a vintage line of equipment that had been used by

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

Dazzy Vance Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for ...

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...

and

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...

. Akadema quickly gained rights to Ken-Wel and Reach companies trademarks.

Manufacturing

Akadema started manufacturing through suppliers overseas but unlike most manufacturers of the day, Akadema has brought some manufacturing in house to the USA. Akadema started its own wood baseball bat shop and can customize a bat. Two years later the company opened its own embroidery shop. This year the company started its own baseball glove shop making it one of the few companies that still makes wood bats, metal bats and gloves in the USA. In 2008 the company purchased an industrial building and consolidated its operations under one roof in Hawthorne, NJ. According to ''

Inc. magazine ''Inc.'' is an American business magazine founded in 1979 and based in New York City. The magazine publishes six issues per year, along with surrounding online and social media content. The magazine also produces several live and virtual events y ...

'', 2007 sales were 4.8 million.''Inc 5000 Magazine'', Summer 2008
/ref> Current sales are said to be around seven million.

References

External links

Company website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akadema (Company) Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Passaic County, New Jersey Gloves Hawthorne, New Jersey