Bulls turn into Tobacconists

At least it is not food the club is named after. The Durham Bulls will adopt the identity of the first professional baseball team that played in Durham in 1902. In the course of the season, the Bulls will be named Tobacconists on April 13, May 18, June 27, July 13, and August 31.

The Tobacconists, Durham’s first in professional baseball, didn’t play a full season because the North Carolina League folded, and the city would go without baseball for a decade before the team reformed as the Bulls in 1913 when the North Carolina League saw the light. Through the years the Bulls disbanded or moved several times. Besides the name, the current Durham Bulls aren’t linked to those of the movie Bull Durham. That team played in the Carolina League before moving to Danville as the AAA Bulls took over the place of the A-Advanced team in Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the stadium that replaced Durham Athletic Park, the stadium where the movie was shot.

The cap and the jersey the team will wear during the specific dates are in burgundy with beige and grey piping and letters. Beige piping runs around the sleeves and a dotted line runs up along the button holes around the neck and down again. On the right side of the cap, a tobacco leaf is stitched.

The name Tobacconists is an ode to the agricultural industry at the time. The first day the Bulls will wear the specialty jerseys, there will also be a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the city of Durham.