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 Truist Stadium is a ballpark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that replaced Ernie Shore Field. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball team and primary home field of the Carolina D ...

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 Twins played in the Virginia-North Carolina League in 1905, the

Carolina Baseball Association Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in t ...

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, it retained the Twins name until 1953, when it became the Winston-Salem Cardinals. The 1950 team was recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. 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 The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and changed its name to the Winston-Salem Spirits. The team initially retained the Spirits name after becoming the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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 The North Carolina Zoo is a zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina, housing 1,800 animals of more than 250 species, primarily representing Africa and North America. It is one of two state-supported zoos in the United States, with the other being the Mi ...

around that time. As the Warthogs, they were the league champion in 2003. 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", a reference to the (-) symbol used in the middle of the city's name, despite the fact that it isn't a dash at all, but a hyphen. 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. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Dash were organized into the High-A East. 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.

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.The Official Site of The Winston-Salem Dash , wsdash.com Homepage
/ref> 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.

Year-by-year record

(Compiled fromMLB Stats, Scores, History, & Records , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref>)

Roster

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame alumni * Wade Boggs (1977) Inducted, 2005 * Earl Weaver (1950) Inducted, 1996 Notable alumni *

Don Aase Donald William Aase ( ;"The Week (July 24–30)," ''Sp ...

(1974) MLB All-Star * Jim Abbott (1998) * Mike Andrews (1963) MLB All-Star *

Todd Benzinger Todd Eric Benzinger (born February 11, 1963) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played a nine-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1987 to 1995. Biography Benzinger was born in Dayton, Kentucky, a ...

(1982) * Don Blasingame (1953) MLB All-Star * Aaron Boone (1995) MLB All-Star *

Garland Braxton Edgar Garland Braxton (June 10, 1900 – February 25, 1966) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of 10 seasons (1921–1933) with the Boston Braves, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox a ...

(1939–1940) 1927 AL ERA Leader * Ken Brett (1967) MLB All-Star * Rick Burleson (1971) 4 x MLB All-Star * Cecil Cooper (1971) 5 x MLB All-Star *

Joe Crede Joseph Taylor Crede (pronounced CREE-dee, born April 26, 1978) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (2000–2008) and the Minnesota Twins (2009). Crede was drafted ...

(1998) MLB All-Star * General Crowder (1923) MLB All-Star * Joe Cunningham (1952) 2 x MLB All-Star * John Curtis (1968) * Harry Danning (1932) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Dixie Davis J. Richard Davis (1905 – December 30, 1969), also known as Dixie Davis, was the lawyer for mobster Dutch Schultz. Biography Davis was born in New York City in 1905 and grew up in Tannersville, New York after his father, a tailor named Dav ...

(1931) *

Bo Diaz Bo or BO may refer to Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre *Box office, where tickets to an event are sold, and by extension, the amount of business a production receives *'' BA:BO'', 2008 South Korean film * ''Bo'' (film), a ...

(1975) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Dwight Evans Dwight Evans may refer to: * Dwight Evans (baseball) (born 1951), American former baseball player * Dwight Evans (politician) (born 1954), American politician {{hndis, Evans, Dwight ...

(1971) 8 x Gold Glove; 3 x MLB All Star *

Hoot Evers Walter Arthur "Hoot" Evers (February 8, 1921 – January 25, 1991) was an American baseball outfielder, scout, coach, and executive. Evers played professional baseball from 1941 to 1942 and 1946 to 1956, including 12 seasons in Major League Bas ...

(1941) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Jon Garland Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1997, Garland played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angel ...

(1999) MLB All-Star * Doug Glanville (1992) *

Gio Gonzalez Gio or GIO may refer to: People * Gio (nickname) * Gio (footballer, born 1984), Spanish * Gio (singer) (born 1990) * Gio people, an ethnic group in northeastern Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire Science and technology * Gi/o, Gi/o, protein subunits * ...

(2005) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Ted Gray Ted Glenn Gray (December 31, 1924 – June 15, 2011) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played eight seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1946, 1948–1954), and then had short stints during the 1955 season with the Chicago White Sox, Clevela ...

(1942) MLB All-Star * Mike Greenwell (1984) 2 x MLB All-Star * Harvey Haddix (1947) 3 x MLB All-Star * Jim Hickman (1958) MLB All-Star *

Butch Hobson Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. He is the current manager for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Hobson played in ...

(1973) * Bobby Jenks (2008) 2 x MLB All-Star * Jim Lonborg (1964) MLB All-Star; 1967 AL Cy Young Award * Jim King (1951) *

Johnny Klippstein John Calvin Klippstein (October 17, 1927 – October 10, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher (mostly a reliever), who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a number of teams, over an 18-season career. The most prominent portio ...

(1946) * Bill Lee (1968) MLB All-Star * Carlos Lee (1997) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Hank Leiber Henry Edward Leiber (January 17, 1911 – November 8, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1942 with the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs. Early life Leiber was ...

(1932) 3 x MLB All-Star * Sparky Lyle (1965) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1977 AL Cy Young Award * Steve Lyons (1981) * Brandon McCarthy (2004) *

Lynn McGlothen Lynn Everett McGlothen (March 27, 1950 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . He played for the Boston Red Sox (1972–1973), St. Louis Cardin ...

(1970) MLB All-Star *

Stu Miller Stuart Leonard Miller (December 26, 1927 – January 4, 2015), nicknamed The Butterfly Man, was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–56), Philadelphia Phillies (1956), New York/San Francisco Giants (1 ...

(1951) 2 x MLB All-Star * Eddie Moore (1939) *

Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston R ...

(1985) MLB All-Star *

Van Mungo Van Lingle Mungo (June 8, 1911 – February 12, 1985) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The five-time All-Sta ...

(1930) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Gene Oliver Eugene George Oliver (March 22, 1935 – March 3, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 786 games in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher and first baseman, between and , for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959, ...

(1957) *

Rico Petrocelli Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli (born June 27, 1943) is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he both threw and batted right-hand ...

(1962) 2 x MLB All-Star * Rip Repulski (1949) MLB All-Star * Aaron Rowand (1999) MLB All-Star * Chris Sale (2010) 6 x MLB All-Star * George Scott (1964) 3 x MLB All-star *

Mike Shannon Thomas Michael Shannon (born July 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder / outfielder who spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (–). Shannon worked as a Cardinals radio ...

(1959) * Heathcliff Slocumb (1987) MLB All-Star *

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

(1932) MLB All-Star * Lee Thomas (1956) 2 x MLB All-Star * Steve Trachsel (1991) MLB All-Star * John Tudor (1976) *

Dick Wakefield Richard Cummings Wakefield (May 6, 1921 – August 25, 1985) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball for 9 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1941, 1943–1944, 1946–1949), New York Yankees (1950), and New York Giants (1952). Wakefield was ...

(1941) MLB All-Star * Vic Wertz (1942) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Ernie Whitt Leo Ernest Whitt (born June 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural sea ...

(1973) MLB All-Star * Wilbur Wood (1961) 3 x MLB All-Star

References

External links