The ACC Moves In

The Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament begins on Wednesday, and the ACC has taken over the DBAP. The Conference staff is transforming the ballpark into a collegiate championship venue.

They bring their flags and banners...


They bring their textiles...


They bring their TV production trucks...

The television crew rolled in Monday. The games are broadcast on regional sports networks from New England to Florida.

The coaches had breakfast in American Tobacco's Bay 7 this morning and teams have begun practice. That's NC State and Clemson on the field today...

CLICK HERE for the Tournament schedule (Wed - Sun)
and ticket info.

PeTA Rates the DBAP...

PeTA has again recognized the Bulls’ healthy menu choices - especially for fans that abstain from meat.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released their Minor League ballpark rankings last week: The DBAP was a lean, ripped Number Five in the nation.

A veggie sausage now compliments our veggie dog and black bean veggie burger.

Papa John’s offers a veggie pizza.

Moe’s Southwest Grill came aboard with a tofu burrito and fresh salads.

In the potato realm, we’ve added sweet potato fries, loaded tater tots and Chipstix.

Top that off with fried pickles.

Meatless and mouth waterin'. I'm headed to the concourse food court...

Sounds of Summer

The term sports marketing evokes classic Super Bowl ads and irreverent beer commercials.

…but there are more meaningful applications of our trade, and that’s what occurred at last Wednesday's afternoon game.

Cochlear Americas - they make hearing implants - sponsored the game and invited their customers (or patients?) to the DBAP to celebrate the Sounds of Summer.

Before their cochlear implant (something I put in the miracle category) these folks couldn’t hear the National Anthem, the crack of the bat or the cotton candy barker. They couldn’t enjoy singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. The implant was a game changer!

"The greatest thrill is I'm able to talk, understand and be a part of my grandchildren's life."

That’s a quote from Stuart Nelson, a Chapel Hill granddad. Regina Wang captures his story and the event for the News & Observer. Click here for the article.

Bill Law of the Bulls and Mr. Nelson observe the month of May as Better Hearing and Speech Month. The kids led the singing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch...


71,000 adults and children in the US have received cochlear implants, but that's only 5% of those with hearing loss who might benefit.

Click here for more coverage: Chapel Hill Magazine.

The Hank Aaron Files

Last week's turn-back-the-clock game at the Durham Athletic Park reminded me of a significant period in Bulls' history - when the Atlanta Braves came to town!

During most of the 1970's, there was no Minor League ball in Durham. An early attempt at "regionalism" featured a team that split its games between Raleigh and Durham. The concept failed to win fans and the team fizzled. No baseball for almost a decade.

In 1979 Miles Wolff enticed the City of Durham to fix up the DAP, he convinced the Braves to provide a team, and the Carolina League single-A Durham Bulls returned to the field in 1980. The rest is (modern) history!

The Braves were represented by Hank Aaron. Hammerin' Hank had retired in 1976 and moved to the Atlanta front office. He was assigned the Durham project.

Durham City Manager Tom Bonfield discovered these letters in his files last year. He shared them with me...and I share them with you. There's nothing earth shattering about these documents, but thirty years later, they are can be viewed as a milestone in the Bulls 109-year legacy. Click here to read more from the Aaron files.

Behind the scenes...

Our local newspaper, The Herald-Sun, did a wonderful series on some of the unheralded jobs at our ballpark.

They are interesting stories - along with video essays - about unique jobs and off-limits parts of the DBAP.

~ ~ ~

Consider our manual scoreboard. No electronics. There’s a human being behind those numbers.

Chris Ivy is his name, and he resides in the belly of the outfield wall during every game. You gotta love baseball to do that job!


Another off-limits area: the locker room (or the “clubhouse” as it’s distinctly known in baseball.) It’s the players’ private realm of food, fitness club, physical therapy, laundry and video games.

What’s it like for assistant “clubbie” Daniel Jordan to work in this secret world?


Click here for an index to the entire series about the scoreboard, clubhouse, snow cone barker and groundskeeper.

More on the DAP game...

As the week winds down there's still a lot of buzz surrounding Monday's game at the historic Durham Athletic Park.

We held a fan photo contest on Facebook. Brett Carver is the winner. It's a classic...

...just as the Durham Bulls Athletic Park sparked renovation on the south end of downtown when it opened, the old park's restoration, completed in 2009, is credited with helping to bring its neighborhood back to life.

That's from Martha Quillin writing about the DAP in the News & Observer. Click here for the article - a good story on what the restored ballpark means to the north Durham neighborhood.

Now, punch play and enjoy this video essay by the Bulls' very talented Andrea Roa:

...and one more story from WRAL TV5's Jason Jennings...who camped out at the DAP; click here for the video.

Baseball Time Machine

The Bulls play at the Durham Athletic Park tonight...our home until 1998...restored by the City of Durham. The DBAP is south of downtown; the DAP is on the north end. The shrine to Bull City baseball and the "on location" site of the 1988 cinema classic Bull Durham is currently operated by Minor League Baseball. The DAP has its own website. Check it out; click here.


The above image (late '80s) comes from the Endangered Durham website. Click here for additional pix. Scroll down to browse through their library.

Join us this evening...should be a beautiful - and memorable - night for baseball! Tickets: www.durhambulls.com.