Tombstone
Born: January 1972 – Re-branded from Asheville Tourists
Moved: November 1975 (Charlotte Orioles)
First Game: April 12, 1972 (L 3-2 vs. Charlotte Hornets)
Last Game: September 5, 1975 (W 14-6 vs. Knoxville Sox)
Southern League Championships: None
Stadium
Marketing
Radio:
- 1973: WKKE (1380 AM)
Broadcasters:
- 1973: ?
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1972-1973: Al Harazin, Fleming Talman, George Chumbley Jr., et al.
- 1974-1975: Donald Thorson, George Chumbley Jr., et al.
Major League Affiliation: Baltimore Orioles
Attendance
Background
Minor league baseball’s future in Asheville, North Carolina was cast into some doubt when the Chicago White Sox shifted their Class AA farm club from the mountains of Western North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee following the 1971 season. But Asheville’s Southern League franchise was saved when a restless attorney from Cincinnati partnered up with a group of local investors to bring the Baltimore Orioles to Asheville’s McCormick Field in 1972.
Al Harazin, the 29-year old recovering labor lawyer from Ohio, and his wife Anne invested their life savings of $10,000 for a controlling 50% stake in the Asheville club. Local business leaders leader by Fleming Talman and banker George Chumbley Jr. organized a stock sale of $10.00 per share to match the Harazins’ investment.
Harazin also served as Asheville’s General Manager in 1972 and 1973 and was by all accounts a tireless year-round promoter of the team. He left the team after two seasons and sold his stake in the team to take a front office job with Asheville’s parent club, the Baltimore Orioles. Over the next two decades Harazin worked his way up the ranks of Major League Baseball, culminating in a two-season stint as General Manager of the New York Mets in 1992 and 1993.
On The Field
Baltimore had an excellent farm system during the 197o’s. Asheville enjoyed many future Major League stars at McCormick Field during the O’s era from 1972-1975. Top players included:
- Outfielder Al Bumbry (Asheville ’72)
- Second baseman Doug DeCinces (Asheville ’72)
- Infielder Rich Dauer (Asheville ’74-’75)
- 1979 American League Cy Young Award Winner Mike Flanagan (Asheville ’74)
- Future Hall-of-Fame first baseman Eddie Murray (Asheville ’74-’75)
- Pitcher Dennis Martinez (Asheville ’75)
Al Bumbry (1973) and Eddie Murray (1977) both won American League Rookie-of-the-Year honors with Baltimore shortly after leaving Asheville.
Less well known than the stars listed above was outfielder Mike Reinbach who tore up the Southern League (.346-30HR-109RBIs) as a 22-year old in 1972 and won the circuit’s first ever MVP award. Reinbach played just 12 games in the Majors, but went on to become a star in Japan during the late 1970’s.
The 1972 Asheville squad advanced to the Southern League championship series but lost in a 3-game sweep to the Montgomery Rebels.
Move To Charlotte & Aftermath
By the end of the Orioles fourth season in Asheville in 1975, the club was $18,000 in debt. In October 1975, Baltimore notified Asheville’s local owners that they would move their Class AA operation to Charlotte for the 1976 season.
In December 1975 the Anderson (SC) Rangers of the Class A Western Carolinas League moved to Asheville replace the O’s. The new team reclaimed Asheville’s historic “Tourists” identity and the franchise remains in the city to this day.
Trivia
Future Hall-of-Fame Cal Ripken Jr. worked as an 11-year old bat boy for the Asheville O’s in 1972. His father Cal Ripken Sr. managed Asheville for three seasons from 1972 to 1974.
Asheville Orioles Shop
In Memoriam
Outfielder Mike Reinbach (Asheville ’72) died in a single car accident in Califoria on May 20, 1989. The 1972 Southern League Most Valuable Player was just 39 years old.
Manager Cal Ripken Sr. (Asheville ’72-’74) succumbed to lung cancer on March 25, 1999 at the age of 63. New York Times obituary.
Pitcher Mike Flanagan (Asheville ’74) took his own life at age 59 on August 24, 2011. Flanagan was the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1979 and was part of Baltimore’s 1983 World Series championship team. New York Times obituary.
Pitcher Jesse Jefferson (Asheville ’72) died on September 8, 2011 after battling prostate cancer. He was 62 years old.
Catcher Willie Royster (Asheville ’75) passed on November 23, 2015 at age 61.
Catcher Terry Clapp (Asheville ’73-’74) bashed 35 homers for the 1973 Asheville club. He passed away at age 65 on April 25, 2016.
Downloads
August 1973 Orioles vs. Montgomery Rebels Game Notes
August 1973 Asheville Orioles vs Montgomery Rebels Game Notes
Links
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4 Responses
Loved that field…. The right field fence was only 279 feet from home plate while the left field fence was over 400 ft. You should of seen the gyrations all the right handed hitter went through to try and hit the ball to right:)
I played in Asheville 73-75. Sorry to read my teammate Terry Clapp passed away so young. He was a great guy.
Saw Denny Mclain pitch a few innings for Birmingham in June of 1972 at Mccormick. He was whisked away by car after a short interview between innings.
I was a batboy for the Asheville Orioles in 1975, and a young fan in the stands throughout the summer of ’74. Among others, I batboyed for Chuck Heil (who posted previously in this forum), and fondly remember him as one of my favorite players on the team. I remember rooting for Terry Clapp from the stands in ’74 — he could really put some pop into a baseball — and I share my condolences with Chuck on his passing. There were so many great people on those teams. I enjoyed being around Jim Buckner (Bill’s younger brother), who was a fun and gracious guy, and who — if I recall — played in right field while Chuck patrolled in center. I remember tossing the ball on the field with Izzy Oquendo before a game, after he asked me if I could help him warm up. There were of course future MLB players and greats on that team — Eddie Murray, Rich Dauer, Dennis Martinez, Dave Skaggs — and 1975 is also apparently the season when Jimmie Schaffer and Eddie Murray conspired to propel Eddie to become a hall-of-fame switch hitter. It’s been a long time since I lived in Asheville, but McCormick Field is a special place, and in the wake of the hurricane horrors in Asheville and Western NC earlier this month (Oct 2024), I offer my best wishes to all who connect.