Throughout the early and mid 1900s, Asheville was home to a thriving Negro Baseball League .
One of the league’s most successful teams ? The Asheville Blues, who operated during the 1940s and 1950s. The Blues’ legacy — which includes back-to-back Negro Southern League Championships in 1946 and 1947 — will be honored at McCormick Field throughout the Asheville Tourists’ 2023 season , which kicks off Thursday, April 6.
As part of this season-long honor, the Blue’s championship flag will fly over the stadium. Asheville company Sunrise Studios has also recreated the team’s logo and printed it onto special Blues-themed uniforms, which the Asheville Tourists will wear for one game during the 2023 season.
Want your own Blues t-shirt? They’re for sale online . Bonus: All proceeds support youth development program My Daddy Taught Me That .
Read more about the history of the Blues in The Urban News’ reflection on the Negro Baseball League and in Mountain Xpress’’ "Revisiting Asheville’s Black baseball history .”