Winston-Salem Dash

Lore & Background

The franchise joined the newly established Carolina League as a charter member in 1945, playing as the Winston-Salem Cardinals. The Cardinals won consecutive league championships in 1950 and 1951; the 1950 club finished 106–47 and was later recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. The club adopted the Winston-Salem Twins name in 1954 and spent the 1955 and 1956 seasons as a New York Yankees affiliate. After South Side Park was damaged by fire near the end of its use, the team moved to the newly built Ernie Shore Field for the 1956 season. The franchise returned to the St. Louis organization in 1957 and competed as the Winston-Salem Red Birds through 1960.

The franchise became a Boston Red Sox affiliate in 1961 and adopted the Winston-Salem Red Sox name, an affiliation that lasted for 24 seasons through 1984. During the Red Sox era, Winston-Salem won Carolina League championships in 1964, 1970, 1973, 1976, and 1979. After Dennis Bastien purchased the franchise in October 1983, the club adopted its own name and color scheme, becoming the Winston-Salem Spirits for the 1984 season. It remained affiliated with Boston that year and became a Chicago Cubs affiliate in 1985. The Spirits won consecutive Carolina League championships in their first two seasons as a Cubs affiliate, 1985 and 1986. The Cubs affiliation continued through 1992. In 1993, the franchise became a Cincinnati Reds affiliate and won another league championship. The Reds affiliation lasted through 1996.

After the 1994 season, the name Warthogs was selected through a local newspaper's 'Name the Team' contest and became the club's identity in 1995. The name was an apparent reference to the North Carolina Zoo's recent acquisition of warthogs. The Warthogs became a Chicago White Sox affiliate in 1997, beginning an affiliation that has continued since. Winston-Salem won the 2003 Carolina League championship as the Warthogs, the franchise's most recent league title. In 2008, while planning its move to a new downtown ballpark, the club solicited suggestions for a new identity and received about 3,000 submissions. On December 4, 2008, it announced that it would adopt the Winston-Salem Dash name beginning with the 2009 season. The nickname refers to the punctuation in the city's name, although the mark between 'Winston' and 'Salem' is technically a hyphen.

Reader's Guide

The Winston-Salem Dash represent a continuous minor-league baseball tradition in Winston-Salem dating to 1945, when the franchise joined the newly formed Carolina League as a charter member. Over the decades, the team has undergone multiple name changes and affiliations, reflecting the shifting landscape of Minor League Baseball. The franchise has won 11 Carolina League championships, with the most recent title coming in 2003. Before the 2021 reorganization of Minor League Baseball, Winston-Salem had been the only franchise to compete in every Carolina League season since the circuit's establishment in 1945. As part of Major League Baseball's restructuring that year, the Dash were assigned to High-A East at the High-A classification; the circuit restored the historical South Atlantic League name in 2022. The club has played at Truist Stadium since 2010, a downtown ballpark originally named BB&T Ballpark. In April 2024, Diamond Baseball Holdings purchased the Dash, marking the franchise's first ownership change in more than two decades. The Dash continue to play at the city-owned Truist Stadium and remain the High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

Did You Know?

• The franchise has won 11 Carolina League championships, most recently in 2003.
• Before the 2021 reorganization, Winston-Salem was the only franchise to compete in every Carolina League season since 1945.
• The Dash nickname refers to the punctuation in the city's name, though the mark between 'Winston' and 'Salem' is technically a hyphen.
• The club played at Ernie Shore Field from 1956 through 2009 before moving to its current downtown stadium.