Winston-Salem Dash#History

{{Short description|Minor league baseball team in North Carolina}}

{{Infobox Minor League Baseball

| name = Winston-Salem Dash

| founded = 1945

| city = Winston-Salem, North Carolina

| misc =

| logo = WinstonSalemDash.PNG

| uniformlogo = WinstonSalemDashcap.PNG

| class level = High-A (2021–present)

| past class level = Class A-Advanced

| current league = South Atlantic League (2021–present)

| conference =

| division = South Division

| past league = Carolina League (1945–2020)

| majorleague = {{plainlist|

Chicago White Sox (1997–present)
Cincinnati Reds (1993–1996)
Chicago Cubs (1985–1992)
Boston Red Sox (1961–1984)
New York Yankees (1955–1956)
St. Louis Cardinals (1945–1954, 1957–1960)
Detroit Tigers (1941–1942)
Cleveland Indians (1939)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1938)
Detroit Tigers (1937)
New York Giants (1932)

}}

| pastmajorleague =

| nickname = Winston-Salem Dash (2009–present)

|colors = Purple, black, white
{{color box|#562e8f}} {{color box|#000}} {{color box|#fff}}

| pastnames = {{plainlist|

Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995–2008)
Winston-Salem Spirits (1984–1994)
Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961–1983)
Winston-Salem Red Birds (1957–1960)
Winston Salem Twins (1954–1956)
Winston-Salem Cardinals (1945–1953)
Winston-Salem Twins (1905, 1908–1917, 1920–1933, 1937–1942)

}}

| ballpark = Truist Stadium (2010–present)

| pastparks = Ernie Shore Field (1956–2009)
South Side Park (1945–1955)

| mascot = Bolt

| leaguenum = 14

| leaguechamps = {{hlist|1911|1913|1914|1928|1950|1951|1964|1970|1973|1976|1979|1986|1993|2003}}

| divnum = 0

| divisionchamps =

| owner = Diamond Baseball Holdings{{cite web |title=Winston-Salem Dash to Begin Next Chapter with New Owner Diamond Baseball Holdings |url=https://www.milb.com/winston-salem/news/winston-salem-dash-new-chapter-with-diamond-baseball-holdings |website=Minor League Baseball |publisher=Minor League Baseball |access-date=April 16, 2024 |date=April 3, 2024}}

| gm = Brian DeAngelis

| manager = Pat Leyland

| website = {{URL|https://www.milb.com/winston-salem|milb.com/winston-salem}}

}}

The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games at the Truist Stadium in 2010 after having Ernie Shore Field (now known as Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park) as their home from 1956 to 2009.

History

Previous baseball clubs in Winston-Salem had typically been called the "Twins", in reference to the long-since-merged "Twin Cities" of Winston and Salem since 1905. The Winston-Salem Twins played in the Virginia-North Carolina League in 1905, the Carolina Baseball Association from 1908 to 1917 and the Piedmont League from 1920 to 1933 and again from 1937 to 1942.

The current franchise joined the Carolina League in 1945, and is the oldest continuously operating team in that circuit. Originally a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, the team began play in the Carolina League as the Winston-Salem Cardinals through 1953, when it again became the Winston-Salem Twins from 1954 to 1956. The 1950 team was recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.{{cite web |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204144557/http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2012 |title=Top 100 Teams |publisher=Minor League Baseball |date=2001 |access-date=May 9, 2017}}

After a brief period (1957–60) as the Winston-Salem Red Birds, the team switched affiliation in 1961 to the Boston Red Sox. It remained with the Red Sox for 22 years, and was known until 1983 as the Winston-Salem Red Sox. In 1984, the team changed affiliates again, this time contracting with the Chicago Cubs, and changed its name to the Winston-Salem Spirits.

File:WSwarthogs.PNG

The team initially retained the Spirits name after becoming the Cincinnati Reds A-level affiliate in 1993, winning the Carolina League championship in that same year. After the 1994 season, the club decided to change its name and sponsored a contest through the local newspaper, the Winston-Salem Journal, to come up with a new name. The winning entry, the Warthogs, became the official team name in 1995. In addition to being alliterative, it also referred to the somewhat-celebrated acquisition of some warthogs at the North Carolina Zoo around that time. As the Warthogs, they were the league champion in 2003.

When the Warthogs were about to open a new ballpark, a contest was held to give the team a new name. 3,000 suggestions were received.{{cite news|url=https://journalnow.com/did-the-winston-salem-dash-get-a-new-grammatically-correct-name/article_e89489ce-dfa1-11ed-baf4-f36d38983b7b.html|title=Did the Winston-Salem Dash get a new grammatically correct name?|last=Sexton|first=Scott|work=Winston-Salem Journal|date=April 20, 2023}} On December 4, 2008, the team publicly announced that they would be called the Winston-Salem Dash from 2009 onward. The Dash name is rumored to be a reference to a nickname for the city of Winston-Salem, "The Dash",{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} a reference to the (-) symbol used in the middle of the city's name, despite the fact that it is not a dash at all, but a hyphen. Complaints about the incorrect name began soon after the name was first used, and on May 6, 2023, for one home game, the team called itself the Winston-Salem Hyphens.

As the Warthogs, the team's mascot was Wally Warthog. With the new nickname, the Dash held a name-the-mascot contest for Wally's replacement. In keeping with the image of speed implied by "The Dash", the new mascot is a lightning-themed character named Bolt.{{Cite web |url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-510944 |title=The Official Site of The Winston-Salem Dash |access-date=2009-06-08 |archive-date=2009-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527044044/http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/fans/page.jsp?ymd=20090216&content_id=510944&vkey=fans_t580&fext=.jsp&sid=t580 |url-status=live }}

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Dash were organized into the High-A East.{{cite web|last=Mayo|first=Jonathan|title=MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/new-minor-league-baseball-structure|website=Major League Baseball|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=February 12, 2021}} In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/minor-league-baseball-historical-league-names-to-return-in-2022|title=Historical League Names to Return in 2022|website=Minor League Baseball|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=March 16, 2022}}

Ballparks

The club originally played at South Side Park, south of the downtown area. When that park burned, a new park was built on the north side, near the Wake Forest University campus and the RJR plant, and named Ernie Shore Field in honor of the former major leaguer who had led the fund drive for the new ballpark. Opened in 1956, Ernie Shore Field seats 6,000 fans. BB&T Ballpark was hoped to be completed for the 2009 season, or sometime within the season, but construction came to a halt due to a lack of funding. Meanwhile, Ernie Shore Field had been sold to Wake Forest and renamed as Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, compelling the Dash to lease the ballpark back for the 2009 season. On June 2, 2009, the Dash announced a new scheduled opening for the 2010 season.[https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-5102340 The Official Site of The Winston-Salem Dash | wsdash.com Homepage]

On February 24, 2010, the Dash announced BB&T Ballpark's official name.

The Dash finally opened the new BB&T Ballpark on April 13, 2010.[https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-9285344 The Official Site of The Winston-Salem Dash | wsdash.com Homepage]

Year-by-year record

(Compiled from[https://www.baseball-reference.com/ MLB Stats, Scores, History, & Records | Baseball-Reference.com])

class="wikitable"
style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs !! League/Notes
align=center \| 1905	10–14	3rd	J.C. "Con" Strothers / Earle Holt		Virginia-North Carolina League, Salisbury-Spencer (24–28) moved to Winston-Salem July 17, League disbanded August 19, Known as "Twins"
align=center \| 1908	41–48	4th	Robert Carter		Carolina Baseball Association
align=center \| 1909	54–52	4th	Robert Carter
align=center \| 1910	51–57	4th	James McKivett
align=center \| 1911	72–37	1st	Charles Clancy	League Champs
align=center \| 1912	63–47	2nd	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1913	66–49	1st	Charles Clancy	League Champs	North Carolina State League
align=center \| 1914	70–47	1st	Charles Clancy	League Champs
align=center \| 1915	53–69	5th	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1916	63–48	2nd	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1917	17–20	4th	Charles Clancy		League ceased operations May 30
align=center \| 1920	56–65	4th	Bill Shumaker / Eddie Brennan / Jim Kelly		Piedmont League
align=center \| 1921	62–58	4th	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1922	66–59	3rd	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1923	59–64	4th	Bill Leard / Mike Fahey
align=center \| 1924	59–62	4th	Bill Jackson
align=center \| 1925	77–49	1st	Charles Carroll	Lost League Finals
align=center \| 1926	64–81	5th	Cy Chisolm / Red Irby / Walt Christensen / Art Bourg
align=center \| 1927	79–64	3rd	Charles McMillan
align=center \| 1928	82–51	1st	Bunny Hearn	League Champs
align=center \| 1929	77–63	3rd	George Whiteman
align=center \| 1930	70–71	4th	Hal Weafer / Claude Joyner / Charles Carroll / [Johnny Brock
align=center \| 1931	55–79	6th	Bunny Hearn / Bob "Stuffy" McCrone
align=center \| 1932	18–28	—	Harry Wilke		Winston-Salem moved to [High Point (50–38) August 20
align=center \| 1933	42–99	6th	Jim Poole / Art Bourg
align=center \| 1937	35–105	8th	Alvin Crowder / Pepper Rhea / Phil Lundeen / Walt VanGrofski
align=center \| 1938	46–92	8th	Walt VanGrofski / Joe Prerost
align=center \| 1939	54–84	8th	Charles Clancy
align=center \| 1940	48–85	8th	Eddie Moore / Ray Brubaker
align=center \| 1941	54–82	8th	Jake Atz
align=center \| 1942	52–81	8th	Jack Tighe / Al Unser
align=center \| 1945	61–76	6th	George Smith / George Ferrell		Carolina League, Known as "Cardinals"
align=center \| 1946	68–72	5th	Zip Payne
align=center \| 1947	85–57	2nd	Zip Payne	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1948	76–65	5th	Zip Payne
align=center \| 1949	84–61	2nd	Willie Duke / George Ferrell / Roland LeBlanc	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1950	106–47	1st	George Kissell	League Champs
align=center \| 1951	81–58	2nd	Harold Olt	League Champs
align=center \| 1952	74–63	3rd	Harold Olt / Jimmy Brown	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1953	69–70	6th	Jimmy Brown
align=center \| 1954	44–94	8th	Ralph Hodgin / Herb Brett		Known as "Twins"
align=center \| 1955	65–73	7th	Ken Silvestri / Aaron Robinson
align=center \| 1956	59–91	8th	George Hausmann / Lee "Pete" Peterson
align=center \| 1957	72–68	4th	George Kissell		Known as "Red Birds"
align=center \| 1958	69–68	5th	Vern Benson
align=center \| 1959	67–62	4th	Al Unser (baseball)	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1960	61–76	5th	Chase Riddle
align=center \| 1961	68–72	4th	Elmer Yoter (33–37) / Walt Novick (35–35)	none	Known as "Red Sox"
align=center \| 1962	76–64	3rd	Eddie Popowski / Mace Brown	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1963	67–76	7th	Matt Sczesny / Bill Slack
align=center \| 1964	82–57	1st	Bill Slack	League Champs
align=center \| 1965	65–79	7th	Bill Slack
align=center \| 1966	82–58	1st	Bill Slack	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 1967	69–68	6th (t)	Bill Slack
align=center \| 1968	56–81	9th	Bill Slack
align=center \| 1969	77–67	4th	Matt Sczesny	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1970	79–58	1st	Bill Slack	League Champs
align=center \| 1971	67–67	4th	Don Lock
align=center \| 1972	65–74	5th	Rac Slider
align=center \| 1973	77–62	2nd	Bill Slack	League Champs
align=center \| 1974	76–61	3rd	Bill Slack
align=center \| 1975	81–62	2nd	John Kennedy
align=center \| 1976	80–57	1st	Tony Torchia	League Champs
align=center \| 1977	61–77	4th	Tony Torchia
align=center \| 1978	55–77	6th	Bill Slack
align=center \| 1979	85–55	1st	Bill Slack	League Champs
align=center \| 1980	76–64	4th	Buddy Hunter
align=center \| 1981	72–67	2nd	Buddy Hunter
align=center \| 1982	45–93	7th	Rac Slider
align=center \| 1983	74–66	3rd	Bill Slack	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 1984	58–82	8th	Bill Slack		Known as "Spirits"
align=center \| 1985	58–81	8th	Cal Emery
align=center \| 1986	82–56	2nd	Jim Essian	League Champs
align=center \| 1987	72–68	3rd (t)	Jay Loviglio	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1988	73–67	5th	Jay Loviglio
align=center \| 1989	64–71	6th	Jay Loviglio
align=center \| 1990	86–54	2nd	Brad Mills
align=center \| 1991	83–57	2nd	Brad Mills
align=center \| 1992	66–73	7th	Bill Hayes
align=center \| 1993	72–68	3rd (t)	Mark Berry	League Champs
align=center \| 1994	67–70	4th	Mark Berry	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 1995	69–68	3rd	Mark Berry		Known as "Warthogs"
align=center \| 1996	74–65	3rd	Phillip Wellman
align=center \| 1997	63–77	7th	Mike Heath (38–53) / Mark Haley (25–24)
align=center \| 1998	79–60	2nd	Chris Cron	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 1999	63–75	7th	Jerry Terrell
align=center \| 2000	68–71	4th	Brian Dayett
align=center \| 2001	54–86	8th	Wally Backman
align=center \| 2002	50–90	7th	Razor Shines
align=center \| 2003	71–67	5th	Razor Shines	League Champs
align=center \| 2004	74–66	4th	Ken Dominguez / Nick Leyva	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 2005	77–64	3rd	Chris Cron	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 2006	66–72	5th	Rafael Santana
align=center \| 2007	64–74	5th	Tim Blackwell
align=center \| 2008	71–68	4th	Tim Blackwell	Lost in semi-finals
align=center \| 2009	73–65	3rd	Joe McEwing	Lost in 1st round	Known as "Dash"
align=center \| 2010	81–58	1st	Joe McEwing	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 2011	69–71	4th	Julio Vinas
align=center \| 2012	87–51	1st	Tommy Thompson	Lost in League Finals
align=center \| 2013	71–69	3rd	Ryan Newman
align=center \| 2014	61–78	8th	Tommy Thompson
align=center \| 2015	75–63	2nd	Tim Esmay	Lost in semi-finals
align=center \| 2016	56–83	6th	Joel Skinner
align=center \| 2017	56–84	10th	Willie Harris
align=center \| 2018	84–54	1st	Omar Visquel	Lost in 1st Round
align=center \| 2019	72–61	3rd	Justin Jirschele
align=center \| 2020				Season Canceled (COVID)
align=center \| 2021	43–76	12th	Ryan Newman		South Atlantic League
align=center \| 2022	58–74	10th	Ryan Newman
alin=center \| 2023	38-35		Guillermo Quiroz