RiverDogs Capture Prestigious Larry MacPhail Award
"The Charleston RiverDogs have been one of the clubs at the forefront of creating and developing fun, new ways to promote themselves at their ballpark and in their community through such campaigns as 'Be Your Own Fan' and 'Fun Is Good'," said Pat O'Conner, President & CEO of Minor League Baseball.
"Their involvement with the Charleston RBI Program and the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame are just two of the many ways that the RiverDogs also promote our great game in the South Carolina Lowcountry," he added.
"On behalf of the entire Charleston RiverDogs family, we are thrilled to receive this prestigious honor," said Dave Echols, the RiverDogs Executive Vice President & General Manager. "The MacPhail Award is one of the most recognizable awards bestowed in professional baseball. This citation is a credit to our ownership group - The Goldklang Group - whose guidance and direction are for us to make sure that our fans enjoy what has become the 'RiverDogs experience.' We accept this with great pride and humility, as we strive to share the philosophy of 'Fun Is Good.'"
The RiverDogs, who also won the MacPhail Award in 1998, join Hawaii (1969, 1970), Reading (1994, 1999), Richmond (1985, 1990) and Rochester (1967, 1997) as clubs which have won this award two times.
This season,
The club's "Healthy Challenge Tuesday" promotion included elements about living a healthier lifestyle. The RiverDogs teamed with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
Additionally, RiverDogs co-owner Bill Murray's South Atlantic League Hall of Fame induction speech was used as the cornerstone for the club's early season TV commercials.
All 10 of their Monday home games featured a local non-profit organization and a season ticket holder was featured at every home game. All
Other community initiatives included the club's signature charity, Kindness Beats Blindness, which benefits MUSC, Storm Eye Institute, and which has raised more than $250,000 over the past decade; Reading and Running With the RiverDogs, in which a staff member adopts a local third grade class; and the Charleston RBI Program, a local chapter of Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program.
Past Larry MacPhail Award Winners
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006 Round Rock,
2007 West
2008 Ogden, Pioneer
2009
2010
2011
2012
--RIVERDOGS--