In April 2003, one month after the start of the Iraq War, Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey caused a furor when he canceled an event meant to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the well-known 1988 baseball movie Bull Durham because of the anti-war stance of two of its stars, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, fearing that they would use the event as a platform for their political views.
However the effect changed when the new team would absorb the Durham Bulls name and the Bulls' Carolina League history because the Bulls starred in the film Bull Durham and also the Triple-A expansion team was awarded to the Bulls' owners the Capitol Broadcasting Company in which automatically the new team would be operated by the Bulls' operating entity Durham Bulls Baseball Club, Inc. which operated the Bulls in the Carolina League.
Sports film buffs will recognize the Generals as one of the teams the Durham Bulls played against in the 1988 movie Bull Durham.
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Working his way across the country as a sign painter, he created advertisements for everything from Red Man Tobacco to Bull Durham.
He has mixed production sound for over 60 films, including 12 Years a Slave, Bull Durham, Under Fire, Wonder Boys, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Sleepless in Seattle, Tin Cup, and I Dismember Mama.
actor Kevin Costner, whose filmography includes baseball films Bull Durham (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), and For Love of the Game (1999), also has ownership interest in the team.
In the 1988 film Bull Durham, Visalia was mentioned as a potential managing job for aging catcher Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner.
Bull Durham co-star Kevin Costner defended Robbins and Sarandon, saying, "I think Tim and Susan's courage is the type of courage that makes our democracy work... Pulling back this invite is against the whole principle about what we fight for and profess to be about."