The guest speaker for this meeting will be Ron Morris, author of the book “No Bull: The Real Story of the Durham Bulls and the Rebirth of a Team and a City”. While many baseball fans think the success of the movie “Bull Durham” led to the rise of the Durham Bulls, in fact the opposite is true. The Bulls were a hit from the first time they opened the gates in 1980, and their sustained success led to the rebirth of Durham, N.C., as a city, to the renaissance of minor league baseball as a viable industry, and even the rise of Baseball America as the recognized leader in baseball media.
In “No Bull,” Morris follows the 1980 Durham Bulls through their inaugural season, using that narrative thread to explore all the ripples that the team caused in the city and beyond. Morris covered the team for the Durham Herald-Sun that season, and now he has gone back and interviewed the former players and coaches, as well as residents of Durham, to examine the team’s impact on the city.
Ron Morris is one of the most respected sportswriters in the nation, having recently retired as a longtime columnist for The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C. Reared in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he graduated from UNC Charlotte before embarking on his career as a writer. His sportswriting career included the Durham Herald-Sun, Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat and The State. He was a six-time winner of the South Carolina sportswriter of the year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He is also the author of the 1987 book “ACC Basketball: An Illustrated History.” He and his wife, Kim, and son, Luke, reside in Lexington, S.C.
Morris was a Founding Member of the Durham Sports Club.
Mark Your Calendar
8/2/17 – Jeff Gravely, WRAL Sports Anchor
8/16/17 – Jerry Mack, Head Football Coach, NC Central University
9/6/17 – Special Guest Speaker!!