Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash
Founded in 1945 Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A-Advanced
League	South Atlantic League (2021–present)
Division	South Division
Previous leagues	Carolina League (1945–2020)
Major league affiliations
Team	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)
Minor league titles
League titles (14)	1911 1913 1914 1928 1950 1951 1964 1970 1973 1976 1979 1986 1993 2003
Team data
Name	Winston-Salem Dash (2009–present)
Previous names	Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995–2008) Winston-Salem Spirits (1984–1994) Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961–1983) Winston-Salem Red Birds (1957–1960) Winston-Salem Cardinals (1945–1953) Winston-Salem Twins (1905, 1908–1917, 1920–1933, 1937–1942, 1954–1956)
Colors	Purple, black, white
Mascot	Bolt
Ballpark	Truist Stadium (2010–present)
Previous parks	Ernie Shore Field (1956–2009) South Side Park (1945–1955)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Diamond Baseball Holdings[1]
General manager	Brian DeAngelis
Manager	Guillermo Quiroz
Website	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.

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 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.^[2]

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.

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.^[3] 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]} 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Dash were organized into the High-A East.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

On February 24, 2010, the Dash announced BB&T Ballpark's official name.^[7]

The Dash finally opened the new BB&T Ballpark on April 13, 2010.^[8]

(Compiled from^[9])

Media related to Winston-Salem Dash at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website