Take a look back at the chronological history of The Triangle's Team, from affiliation changes to stadium renovations to championship celebrations. For a full list of Durham Bulls who have played in the Major Leagues, click here.
April 27, 1945
Durham plays its first game in the new Carolina League , defeating the Burlington Bees, 5-0.
September 15th, 1948
Former Bulls outfielder Tom Wright becomes the first player from the Carolina League to make it to the major leagues when he makes his debut with the Boston Red Sox.
August 10, 1951
Durham loses to the Danville Leafs 5-4. However, this game marks the debut of Percy Miller Jr., the first black player in the Carolina League who plays for the Danville Leafs.
April 18, 1957
3B Bubba Morton and LHP Ted Richardson became the first African-Americans to play for the Durham Bulls. Morton went hitless and Richardson took the loss to Greensboro, 4-1.
July 10, 1957
First Carolina League All-Star game played in Durham. All-Stars beat Durham, 7-6. 1,964 fans are in attendance.
1968
Durham Bulls merge with Raleigh to form the Raleigh-Durham Mets. The team plays half its games in DAP and half at Raleigh's Devereaux Meadow.
1972
Just before the start of the 1972 season, the Raleigh-Durham team folds. There would be no professional baseball in the Triangle until 1980.
April 15th, 1980
Minor League Baseball returns to Durham for the first time since 1971. 4,418 show up at the DAP on a cool, 45 degree night.
June 22, 1980
Durham's CBS affiliate broadcasts the Bulls game on local TV. It's the first Bulls game ever broadcast on television.
November 1987
Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins star in Ron Shelton's movie "Bull Durham," most of which is filmed at DAP and surrounding Triangle locations. The movie's release in 1988 brings the Durham Bulls national attention. The Durham Bulls' famous "snorting bull" was originally to be used only as a prop for the movie, but has remained a Bulls' staple ever since.
February 1988
Miles Wolff meets with Durham officials to discuss building a 10,000 to 12,000 seat stadium to win a Class Triple-A baseball franchise for Durham.
May 9, 1990
Miles Wolff grants Jim Goodmon, president of Capitol Broadcasting Co., an option to buy the Bulls. Goodmon announces plans to move the Durham Bulls to Triangle Central Park, a sports complex he envisions in eastern Durham County, near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
August 30, 1990
A crowd of 6,202 at the DAP pushes Durham's attendance to 300,499, making the Bulls the first Class A Team ever to pass the 300,000 mark.
July 17, 1992
The Bulls' unveil their new mascot, Wool E. Bull. In a local contest, Jim Vickery of Durham submits the winning moniker chosen from a pool of more than 500 entries. The "E" in Wool E. Bull stands for "Education."
June 17, 1993
The Bulls retired the jersey #18 of Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan. It is the only number retired in Bulls History. Morgan is the only Hall of Famer in Bulls history.
September 1993
After the Bulls' highly touted "last season" at DAP, construction bids for the new ballpark come in more than $4 million over budget, and the project runs into numerous delays. Opening Day is pushed back one year, to April 1995.
September 5th, 1994
Winston-Salem won the final game at Durham Athletic Park, 6-2, in Game One of the Carolina League's South Division playoffs.
April 6, 1995
Seven years after Miles Wolff's original proposal, Durham Bulls Athletic Park opens its gates for its inaugural season in front of 10,886 fans.
August 30, 1997
The Bulls lost to Winston-Salem 6-4 in 10 innings, their last game in a 45-season history in the Carolina League.
June 30, 2020
Minor League Baseball announces the 2020 season will not be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first year without Bulls baseball since 1979.
February 12, 2021
The Bulls announce they have accepted their invitation to continue as the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays after signing Major League Baseball's Professional Development License. The ten-year agreement extends the Bulls' long-running partnership with Tampa Bay through the 2030 season.
May 4, 2021
The Durham Bulls play their first game in 500 days, resulting in a 7-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds in Memphis.
May 11, 2021
The Bulls play their first home game in 507 days at Opening Night 2021 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Bulls fell to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 4-3.
September 14, 2021
Durham clinches their 15th division title in 23 years at the Triple-A level after a 6-2 win over the Charlotte Knights in Charlotte, NC.
September 16, 2021
The Bulls clinch the Triple-A East League title with an 8-6 win over the Charlotte Knights in Charlotte, NC. It is the seventh Triple-A league title for the Bulls franchise after winning six Governors' Cup titles.
September 18, 2021
With a 9-5 road victory over the Charlotte Knights, the Bulls are guaranteed the best regular season record among all 30 Triple-A teams to claim the Triple-A National Championship, marking the third time in franchise history Durham wins the Triple-A National title.
October 2, 2021
The Bulls clinch the Triple-A Final Stretch postseason tournament with their 11th straight victory, a 5-3 defeat over the Norfolk Tides in Norfolk, Virginia. Outfielder Josh Lowe, the Rays' Minor League Player of the Year, hits a go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth inning to lead Durham to victory.
October 1, 2022
After clinching their 16th division title in 24 seasons at the Triple-A level to earn a spot in the International League Championship Game, the Bulls rout the Nashville Sounds 13-0 in Las Vegas to earn their eighth league title, as well as their third over their last four seasons. Infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan is named the game's Most Valuable Player after recording four hits.
October 2, 2022
The night after winning the International League title, Durham defeats the Pacific Coast League Champion Reno Aces with a 10-6 win thanks to a dramatic five-run ninth inning. Outfielder and Vegas native Bligh Madris collected four hits and drove in three runs, including the game-tying RBI double in the ninth, to earn MVP honors before catcher Rene Pinto gave the Bulls the lead with an RBI single in the final frame. After leading all Triple-A players with 33 home runs in the regular season, infielder Tristan Gray put the exclamation mark on the night with a massive three-run home run.