Dragons will match sellout record tonight

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By Sean McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 11:36 PM Friday, July 1, 2011

DAYTON — On April 8, 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA began a sellout streak that would last 814 games, stretching until 1995.

It has remained the longest streak of its kind in professional sports.

Weather permitting, the Dayton Dragons will tie that mark tonight midway through their 12th season when their game against the Bowling Green Hot Rods becomes official after 4½ innings.

It’s no small accomplishment considering the division of opinion that existed in the late 1990s about whether minor-league baseball could gain a foothold, let alone succeed like this, in Dayton.

“Still, once in a while I’ll have somebody come up to me on the street or at a game and say, ‘Hey, I was one of those people who said this would never work.’ ” Dragons president Bob Murphy said.

“It’s fun now 12 years later to look at it and say this is a good thing, this is great for the community. But way back when, you can’t forget it was a point of real contention.”

Dayton had not had a baseball team since 1951, and skeptics wondered about the viability of a downtown venue. But the allure of Fifth Third Field — the box office opened on March 18, 2000 — has done nothing but intensify over time, as evidenced by a waiting list for season tickets that the Dragons say contains about 8,000 names.

Entering this season, after 11 years of sellouts, the Dragons already had the longest streak in baseball history at 774 games. They have yet to win a Midwest League championship and some years, depending upon the talent provided by the parent Cincinnati Reds, they have been downright dreadful.

But it has never mattered.

“It’s like Wrigley Field,” first-year manager Delino DeShields is fond of saying. “The fans come out no matter what.”

The Dragons say they have no special plans — or guests — lined up for tonight. They are pouring all promotional energies into next Saturday, July 9, when they are scheduled to own the record outright, and July 23, also a Saturday, when a major “thank you” celebration is planned.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com

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