Durham Athletic Park
Encyclopedia
Durham Athletic Park, affectionately known as "The DAP" , is a former minor league baseball
stadium in Durham, North Carolina
. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls
from 1926 through 1994. As of 2010, the DAP still stands north of the downtown area of Durham, on the block bounded by Washington, Corporation, Foster and Geer Streets.
Durham Athletic Park became one of the most famous minor league ballparks in history, thanks to the 1988 film Bull Durham
, featuring the Bulls, Kevin Costner
, Tim Robbins
and Susan Sarandon
. Most of the filming was done at the DAP, following the end of the Carolina League season of 1987. The film's wide acclaim helped fuel the burgeoning public interest in minor league ball in general. In the case of both the city and the film, this explosion of popularity caused the DAP to become a victim of its own success; despite expansion with temporary bleachers, it was just too small to handle the increase in crowd size and the Bulls’ Triple-A ambitions. The Bulls moved to their new home Durham Bulls Athletic Park
(also known as the "DBAP") in downtown Durham, the before the 1995 season. Durham Bulls Athletic Park was built with a capacity to Carolina League standards, but the land that the DBAP was built on had more room in case if the ballpark needs to be expanded for Triple-A baseball. Triple-A baseball did came to Durham in 1998 and the Bulls moved up from High-A to Triple-A, with the DBAP then expanded to Triple-A standards.
, played at Trinity College
's Hanes Field,—named for the founder of the clothing company
, a Trinity graduate—now called Williams Field and is still used for field hockey on Duke's east campus.
, which was re-routed, underground, through a tunnel beneath the pitcher's mound. The stadium, replete with wooden grandstand, was dedicated by the Commissioner of Baseball
, Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, on July 26, 1926, who rode a live bull—the team mascot—onto the playing field. In 1932, the Bulls became a farm team for the Philadelphia Phillies
, becoming part of the Yankees
organization a year later. The facility was renamed Durham Athletic Park during the 1933 offseason, following a $20,000 donation by Annie Watts Hill and her husband, John Sprunt Hill
, that enabled the City of Durham to purchase the park.
. For 1936, Cincinnati Reds moved their affiliation (Piedmont League
squad) from the Wilmington Pirates to Durham, re-activating the Durham Bulls franchise. On the evening of June 17, 1939, the wooden Durham Athletic Park was destroyed by a fire that followed a 7-3 win over the Portsmouth Cubs, causing more than $100,000 in damage and nearly killing groundskeeper Walter Williams, who was asleep under the grandstand when the blaze began, shortly after midnight.
, as a result, 1939 is the year from which the current DAP is normally dated.
During the off-season of 1939–1940 the stadium was rebuilt on-site, with 2,000 grandstand seats and portable bleacher
s along the 1st and 3rd base lines. Funding for the completely new stadium was provided by John Sprunt Hill and the design was penned by Durham architect George Watts Carr, who added the park's distinctive conical ticket tower. The new DAP reopened April 7, 1940 for an exhibition game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox
, with the Bulls, now part of the Dodgers, playing their first game in the new DAP on April 17, before a crowd of 1,587.
, after sitting out for the 1944 season which was a year-long drought of baseball at the DAP, due to the second World War
. Following a realignment to become part of the Detroit Tigers
club in 1948, the DAP witnessed an important moment in the civil rights movement, when on August 10, 1951, Percy Miller, Jr., the first black player in the Carolina League made his minor league debut with the visiting Danville Leafs
.
Attention to baseball waned in the Bull City, through the 1960s, even after the Bulls became the farm club for the Houston Colt .45s expansion team. Attendance numbers were down throughout the region, so much that after the 1967 season, the Bulls acquired the Raleigh club and so the Raleigh club merged into the Durham Bulls, renaming the Durham Bulls the Raleigh-Durham Mets, splitting the season between the DAP and Raleigh's Devereaux Meadow
. There is no record on if this Raleigh team is a new team or the Raleigh Pirates. The team became the Raleigh-Durham Phillies in 1969 and then the Triangles
in 1970, eventually folding after the 1971 season, leaving the stalwart Durham Athletic Park virtually without purpose.
, by new owner Miles Wolff, after more than a decade of dormancy, returning baseball to the DAP for the first time in 9 years, on April 15, 1980, before a crowd of 4,418. The park was repainted in the bright blue and orange team colors. Over the interior entrance was a sign reading El Toro Stadium, a variation of its original name. The team led the Carolina League
in attendance that first season with 175,963, nearly 30 percent of the league total of 600,809, and well ahead of Salem which drew 102,456.
, and ironically proved to spell the end of the DAP as an important baseball venue. Increased attendance at the DAP, with frequent capacity crowds, and an interest in attracting a Triple-A franchise prompted the city to build a new ballpark on the other side of the downtown, adjacent to the former American Tobacco campus. 1993 was promoted as the final season for the DAP, but construction delays compelled the team to play one more season there. In 1994, the club sold T-shirts bearing the legend "2nd Annual Final Season at the DAP". On September 5, 1994 the Bulls played their final game at the DAP, a 6-2 loss to the Winston-Salem Spirits in Game 1 of the Carolina League's South Division playoffs.
In 1995, the Bulls abandoned their home since 1926 and moved to the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park
or "D-BAP". Attendance continued to be so good that the Bulls were promoted to the AAA level 3 years later, when Major League Baseball's most recent round of expansion required the addition of two new AAA teams. Despite the relatively small size of the city, they continue to hold their own in attendance figures among the larger member cities of the International League
.
Following the Bulls departure in September 1994, the DAP was still used for events such as concerts, the Bull Durham Blues Festival, the World Beer Festival and softball tournaments, and was the regular home field of the (now defunct) Durham Americans (formerly Durham Braves) of the Coastal Plain League
, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer league.
The Durham Dragons of the (now defunct) Women's Professional Softball League also made the park its home.
From 1998 to 2004, the Durham Athletic Park's main parking lot was home to the Durham Farmers' Market
on Saturday mornings during the Winter.
In the summer of 2005 rumors of baseball being played at the DAP surfaced again. Nearby North Carolina Central University
announced plans to expand its athletic department to include baseball and identified the DAP as the venue for its home stadium.
The stadium re-opened on August 15, 2009, concluding the renovation with a picnic featuring former Bulls players and local celebrities.
. With additional lighting on-hand to raise the field to Triple-A standards, the Bulls fell to the Mud Hens 6-4, mirroring the score of the Single-A club's final game in the stadium 16 years prior.
Among other events scheduled for 2011 was another return to the DAP by the Bulls, again on the second Monday night in May.http://www.durhambulls.com/team/press_release.html?id=1437 The game was played on May 9 and resulted in a loss to the Indianapolis Indians
.http://www.durhambulls.com/team/game_story.html?id=1672&y=2011
The refurbished ballpark for 2010 is even cozier, at 290 feet (88.4 m) to right field and 340 feet (103.6 m) (unmarked) to right-center field. Straightaway center is 398 feet (121.3 m), left center is unmarked, and the left field line is slightly deeper at 335 feet (102.1 m).
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
stadium in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are...
from 1926 through 1994. As of 2010, the DAP still stands north of the downtown area of Durham, on the block bounded by Washington, Corporation, Foster and Geer Streets.
Durham Athletic Park became one of the most famous minor league ballparks in history, thanks to the 1988 film Bull Durham
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy baseball film. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina....
, featuring the Bulls, Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
, Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
and Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
. Most of the filming was done at the DAP, following the end of the Carolina League season of 1987. The film's wide acclaim helped fuel the burgeoning public interest in minor league ball in general. In the case of both the city and the film, this explosion of popularity caused the DAP to become a victim of its own success; despite expansion with temporary bleachers, it was just too small to handle the increase in crowd size and the Bulls’ Triple-A ambitions. The Bulls moved to their new home Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, frequently called the DBAP , is a ballpark in Durham, North Carolina that is home to the Durham Bulls, the AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. It is also home to the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Central Eagles college baseball teams. The...
(also known as the "DBAP") in downtown Durham, the before the 1995 season. Durham Bulls Athletic Park was built with a capacity to Carolina League standards, but the land that the DBAP was built on had more room in case if the ballpark needs to be expanded for Triple-A baseball. Triple-A baseball did came to Durham in 1998 and the Bulls moved up from High-A to Triple-A, with the DBAP then expanded to Triple-A standards.
Before El Toro
In their early days, from 1912–1926, the Durham Bulls, then a Class-D farm team for the Cincinnati RedsCincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, played at Trinity College
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
's Hanes Field,—named for the founder of the clothing company
Hanes
Hanes and Hanes Her Way are brands of apparel currently owned by the HanesBrands, Inc Corporation...
, a Trinity graduate—now called Williams Field and is still used for field hockey on Duke's east campus.
A place to call their own
On July 7, 1926, the Bulls moved about a mile straight east, to a new field called El Toro Park, built atop the streambed of Ellerbe CreekEllerbe Creek
The Ellerbe Creek is tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA. It is part of the Neuse River Basin, and flows for more than twenty miles through North Durham....
, which was re-routed, underground, through a tunnel beneath the pitcher's mound. The stadium, replete with wooden grandstand, was dedicated by the Commissioner of Baseball
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
, Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, on July 26, 1926, who rode a live bull—the team mascot—onto the playing field. In 1932, the Bulls became a farm team for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, becoming part of the Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
organization a year later. The facility was renamed Durham Athletic Park during the 1933 offseason, following a $20,000 donation by Annie Watts Hill and her husband, John Sprunt Hill
John Sprunt Hill
John Sprunt Hill was a North Carolina lawyer, banker and philanthropist who played a fundamental role in the civic and social development of Durham, North Carolina, the expansion of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the development of rural credit unions in North Carolina during...
, that enabled the City of Durham to purchase the park.
The Depression and disaster
The Bulls sat out the 1934 and 1935 seasons, owing to the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. For 1936, Cincinnati Reds moved their affiliation (Piedmont League
Piedmont League
The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.- Former :...
squad) from the Wilmington Pirates to Durham, re-activating the Durham Bulls franchise. On the evening of June 17, 1939, the wooden Durham Athletic Park was destroyed by a fire that followed a 7-3 win over the Portsmouth Cubs, causing more than $100,000 in damage and nearly killing groundskeeper Walter Williams, who was asleep under the grandstand when the blaze began, shortly after midnight.
The current stadium
Less than two weeks after the disastrous fire that completely destroyed the stadium, a new concrete and steel grandstand, seating 1,000 spectators, opened on July 2, 1939, in time for the Bulls to face the Charlotte HornetsCharlotte Hornets (baseball)
The Charlotte Hornets was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club was originally founded in 1901, and lasted in some form until 1973, capturing 11 league titles during its history...
, as a result, 1939 is the year from which the current DAP is normally dated.
During the off-season of 1939–1940 the stadium was rebuilt on-site, with 2,000 grandstand seats and portable bleacher
Bleacher
Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...
s along the 1st and 3rd base lines. Funding for the completely new stadium was provided by John Sprunt Hill and the design was penned by Durham architect George Watts Carr, who added the park's distinctive conical ticket tower. The new DAP reopened April 7, 1940 for an exhibition game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, with the Bulls, now part of the Dodgers, playing their first game in the new DAP on April 17, before a crowd of 1,587.
Postwar decline
The Bulls were re-activated in early 1945, as the Red Sox's Class-C team in the newly-established Carolina LeagueCarolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
, after sitting out for the 1944 season which was a year-long drought of baseball at the DAP, due to the second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Following a realignment to become part of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
club in 1948, the DAP witnessed an important moment in the civil rights movement, when on August 10, 1951, Percy Miller, Jr., the first black player in the Carolina League made his minor league debut with the visiting Danville Leafs
Danville Leafs
The Danville Leafs were a professional minor league baseball team that played in the city of Danville, Virginia.Professional baseball first made its appearance in Danville in 1905 when the town fielded a team, the Tobacconists, in the short-lived Virginia-North Carolina League...
.
Attention to baseball waned in the Bull City, through the 1960s, even after the Bulls became the farm club for the Houston Colt .45s expansion team. Attendance numbers were down throughout the region, so much that after the 1967 season, the Bulls acquired the Raleigh club and so the Raleigh club merged into the Durham Bulls, renaming the Durham Bulls the Raleigh-Durham Mets, splitting the season between the DAP and Raleigh's Devereaux Meadow
Devereaux Meadow
Devereaux Meadow was a minor league baseball stadium located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The ballpark opened in 1938 and was home to the Raleigh Capitals from and from , the Raleigh Mets for the 1963 season, the Raleigh Cardinals from , the Raleigh Pirates from , the Raleigh-Durham Mets for the...
. There is no record on if this Raleigh team is a new team or the Raleigh Pirates. The team became the Raleigh-Durham Phillies in 1969 and then the Triangles
Raleigh-Durham Triangles
From 1968-1971, the Durham Bulls baseball team played as the Raleigh-Durham Mets for the 1968 season, played as the Raleigh-Durham Phillies for the 1969 season, and played as the Raleigh-Durham Triangles for the 1970 and 1971 seasons. The team remained in the Carolina League...
in 1970, eventually folding after the 1971 season, leaving the stalwart Durham Athletic Park virtually without purpose.
Reborn again
As for the Durham Bulls, they came and went over the years, par for the course for minor leagues and their teams. In 1980, the Bulls were revived as a farm team for the Atlanta BravesAtlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, by new owner Miles Wolff, after more than a decade of dormancy, returning baseball to the DAP for the first time in 9 years, on April 15, 1980, before a crowd of 4,418. The park was repainted in the bright blue and orange team colors. Over the interior entrance was a sign reading El Toro Stadium, a variation of its original name. The team led the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
in attendance that first season with 175,963, nearly 30 percent of the league total of 600,809, and well ahead of Salem which drew 102,456.
Bull Durham and beyond
The team's popularity received a large boost when the ballpark became the primary setting for the film Bull DurhamBull Durham
Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy baseball film. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina....
, and ironically proved to spell the end of the DAP as an important baseball venue. Increased attendance at the DAP, with frequent capacity crowds, and an interest in attracting a Triple-A franchise prompted the city to build a new ballpark on the other side of the downtown, adjacent to the former American Tobacco campus. 1993 was promoted as the final season for the DAP, but construction delays compelled the team to play one more season there. In 1994, the club sold T-shirts bearing the legend "2nd Annual Final Season at the DAP". On September 5, 1994 the Bulls played their final game at the DAP, a 6-2 loss to the Winston-Salem Spirits in Game 1 of the Carolina League's South Division playoffs.
In 1995, the Bulls abandoned their home since 1926 and moved to the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, frequently called the DBAP , is a ballpark in Durham, North Carolina that is home to the Durham Bulls, the AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. It is also home to the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Central Eagles college baseball teams. The...
or "D-BAP". Attendance continued to be so good that the Bulls were promoted to the AAA level 3 years later, when Major League Baseball's most recent round of expansion required the addition of two new AAA teams. Despite the relatively small size of the city, they continue to hold their own in attendance figures among the larger member cities of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
.
The DAP after the Durham Bulls
Coastal Plain League
The Coastal Plain League is a wood-bat collegiate summer league, featuring college players from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from a Class D minor league baseball league which operated in the same area from 1937 to 1952. The modern league was formed with six teams in 1997...
, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer league.
The Durham Dragons of the (now defunct) Women's Professional Softball League also made the park its home.
From 1998 to 2004, the Durham Athletic Park's main parking lot was home to the Durham Farmers' Market
Durham Farmers' Market
The Durham Farmers' Market is a producer-only farmer's market located in Durham, North Carolina, established in 1998.As part of the Market's emphasis on locally-produced produce, crafts and flowers, items sold by the Market's more than 50 vendors are restricted to traveling no more than on its...
on Saturday mornings during the Winter.
In the summer of 2005 rumors of baseball being played at the DAP surfaced again. Nearby North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
announced plans to expand its athletic department to include baseball and identified the DAP as the venue for its home stadium.
2008-2009 Renovation
In 2008, the City of Durham allocated over $4 million in general obligation bond funds to renovate the DAP; Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse was tasked with renovating the historic facility, in the hopes that it will be operated by Minor League Baseball as a training facility for umpires, groundskeepers, and other crew. The DAP will be used for NCCU games and other athletic programming along with concerts, festivals and other events. MiLB is also considering building a Minor League Baseball "fan experience museum" with public-sector support; the buildings at the northeast corner of the ballpark are of the greatest interest for this significant tourist attraction. In early 2008, the City of Durham pledged an additional $1 million to the renovation, the money coming from interest earned on unspent bond funds. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on April 30, with reconstruction beginning in late July 2008.The stadium re-opened on August 15, 2009, concluding the renovation with a picnic featuring former Bulls players and local celebrities.
The Bulls return to the DAP
On the evening of May 10, 2010, before a crowd of 3,911, the-now Class AAA Durham Bulls returned to The DAP for a single regular-season game against the Toledo Mud HensToledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...
. With additional lighting on-hand to raise the field to Triple-A standards, the Bulls fell to the Mud Hens 6-4, mirroring the score of the Single-A club's final game in the stadium 16 years prior.
Among other events scheduled for 2011 was another return to the DAP by the Bulls, again on the second Monday night in May.http://www.durhambulls.com/team/press_release.html?id=1437 The game was played on May 9 and resulted in a loss to the Indianapolis Indians
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
.http://www.durhambulls.com/team/game_story.html?id=1672&y=2011
MiLB Departs the DAP
On September 2, 2011, Minor League Baseball announced that it would not renew its contract to manage the DAP. The City of Durham is currently seeking a new operator for the facility.Dimensions
During its final years as a regular minor league ballpark:- Left Field - 330 feet (100.6 m)
- Left Center Field - 365 feet (111.3 m)
- Center Field - 405 feet (123.4 m)
- Center Field Corner, outer wall - 500 feet (152.4 m)
- Deep Right Center Field - 370 feet (112.8 m)
- Right Center Field - not posted
- Right Field - 305 feet (93 m)
The refurbished ballpark for 2010 is even cozier, at 290 feet (88.4 m) to right field and 340 feet (103.6 m) (unmarked) to right-center field. Straightaway center is 398 feet (121.3 m), left center is unmarked, and the left field line is slightly deeper at 335 feet (102.1 m).