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11IV ia.ll aiA ” *iv»l IV » VM1ly seemed to get a little steam behind it.”“There was much deliberation,” he said. “It’s not a decision that we made lightly. We tried to look at it as many angles as we could find.”Money, he said, “was not the main issue, but yes, it was a consideration.”“Usually, when these relationships end, they end on a bad note. The affiliate was unhappy with the major league club, orvice versa, and the result led to a parting of the ways.“There really isn’t anything you can point to other than a shift in our player-development philosophy,” Norton said. “It’s just the hard decision that we’ve made, that it’s best for us moving forward.” Baltimore will now send rookie-level players to two teams — Aberdeen, Md. and Sarasota, Fla. — instead of three,Asked about offering help to Bluefield to secure another Major League Baseball partner, Norton said, “Certainly, we’d give a pretty good refer ence to other teams ”Shott said on Monday thatup iui tucThe Orioles had landed in Baltimore in 1954 after 51 yearsin St. Louis.#’-■George Fanning guided minor league baseball at Bowen Field as general manager for 45 years until his death inSeptember 1995, McGonaglesaid.His attention to the budget was recounted by Keith Conner, a journalist in Charlotte who broadcast Bluefield games on WKOYRadio in the mid-1980s.“If you ever broke a bat, you had to bring the old one beck to the bench before you got a new one,” he said. “Mr. Fanning would be sitting there and say, ‘Well, give me the old one.’ ” McGonagle, who had been Fanning’s top assistant, was the GM for the next 12 years, retiring in 2007 when Bluefield and Baltimore celebrated their 50th anniversary together He has since come back twice as acting general manager, after his replacements resigned.Alien Coppinger Jr. was another key local supporter of the operation, serving as president of the baseball club.pened next.“Edwin Elliott was the mayor,” he said. “Edwin hired the same architect that designed the New York Yankees stadium, and they designed the stadium. It was pre east concrete, and the city paid for it.... We had insurance money from the fire.”Looney supervised the con struction.Conner said about covering the Orioles, “It was just great. I got to know the Had Bird guys, like Tony Colobro, Walter Clark, Buddy Bovenzi and Mr. (Patsy)Malamisura.”“1 remember the old timers ... and the kids,” Conner said. “Lots of kids. It was a great place to bring kids.”The Bluefield Orioles were in Johnson City on Monday, ending their final six game road trip. Norton said they were informed on Saturday of the affiliation decision.The Baby Birds will finish 2010 with the worst record in the Appalachian League.— Contact 'Ibm Bone at tbone(a bdtonlineeomSigns of Orioles...The final two games in the Bluefield's long-time relationship with the ? Baltiomore Orioles will come to an end tonight. The 53-year partnership started in1958 with a series of one-year contracts, but the Baltimore Orioles announced on Saturday their intentionout of Bluefield. •The Orioles will host the Princeton Rays in a double-header tonight at 6 p.m. Among the photos above is, top left to right, the pennant wall at the entrance to Bowen Field which includes 14 Appalachian Leaguechampionships, the orange bleachers and green backdrop behind home plate, andarealocated down the third line, adjacent to the press box and concession stands.Staff photos by Jon Bott
Newspaper Details
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield, West Virginia, US
Tue, Aug 31, 2010
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Becky K.
NA, 02 Jun 2023
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