IT WAS a safe bet, of course, that Tuesday's South Atlantic League All-Star Game at Appalachian Power Park would attract a respectable crowd.

Several can't-miss forces were at work. We had the allures of a new ballpark, a promotion-minded front-office staff, gorgeous weather and a hefty fan base. And so a crowd of 5,689 turned out.

But it was also a safe bet that Tuesday's crowd would not approach the attendance of the SAL All-Star Game played at Watt Powell Park 20 years ago.

Back then, Dennis Bastien owned our South Atlantic League franchise, the Charleston Wheelers, and he reigned as the ultimate baseball impresario and an inescapable media presence. At the first sight of a television vehicle approaching Watt Powell, he would grab a paintbrush or shovel, a deft move designed to enhance his hard-working image for the cameras. In delivering news and information to us media types, he generally added colorful modifications and made extensive use of creative license. 

Before bringing baseball to Charleston, Bastien owned a team in Gastonia, N.C., and, in a desperate effort to attract fans, once sponsored female mud wrestling behind home plate. But he vowed never to stoop to such debauchery in Charleston. Maybe he believed our fans to be too sophisticated.

To his credit, he once admitted he sometimes rubbed people the wrong way and, in any case, he kept professional baseball alive in our city and is very much a part of our sports lore. He even deserves indirect credit for the movement that gave rise to Appalachian Power Park.

His greatest skill, however, was an ability to fill Watt Powell. The 1989 SAL All-Star Game drew an estimated 6,500 fans - and a reported paid crowd of 7,318 - and it was a lively bunch that serenaded the game's MVP, Reggie Sanders of Greensboro, with chants of "Reggie! Reggie!''

The crowd set a league all-star game record, easily surpassing the previous high of 4,100 set in Macon in 1981.

But how many of those fans actually paid for their tickets that night? We'll chalk that up as a lost part of our baseball lore and a reflection of the Bastien Magic.

It was Bastien's philosophy to attract people to the ballpark even if it meant distributing free and greatly discounted tickets. Bastien knew that once in the park, the fans would buy concessions and souvenirs, make noise, create a festive atmosphere and enjoy themselves enough to make return visits.

Not long after arriving here, he worked out an arrangement with Wendy's in which a fan could purchase a $2 ticket that would admit an entire family. And if 20 or so people showed up claiming to be family, all they needed for admission was one "family member'' in possession of a $2 ticket.

It's also safe to say he found other ways to get tickets in people's hands.

His 1991 Wheelers team, a Cincinnati affiliate, drew a season attendance of 185,389 that set a Watt Powell record, exceeding attendance figures of even our Class AAA teams. Keep in mind that in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Watt Powell's nightly crowds were often 500 or fewer, and season attendance would frequently fall short of 100,000. The 1976 Charlies - a Pittsburgh Class AAA affiliate filled with big-league talent - drew only 72,543.   

IT WAS a safe bet, of course, that Tuesday's South Atlantic League All-Star Game at Appalachian Power Park would attract a respectable crowd.

Several can't-miss forces were at work. We had the allures of a new ballpark, a promotion-minded front-office staff, gorgeous weather and a hefty fan base. And so a crowd of 5,689 turned out.

But it was also a safe bet that Tuesday's crowd would not approach the attendance of the SAL All-Star Game played at Watt Powell Park 20 years ago.

Back then, Dennis Bastien owned our South Atlantic League franchise, the Charleston Wheelers, and he reigned as the ultimate baseball impresario and an inescapable media presence. At the first sight of a television vehicle approaching Watt Powell, he would grab a paintbrush or shovel, a deft move designed to enhance his hard-working image for the cameras. In delivering news and information to us media types, he generally added colorful modifications and made extensive use of creative license. 

Before bringing baseball to Charleston, Bastien owned a team in Gastonia, N.C., and, in a desperate effort to attract fans, once sponsored female mud wrestling behind home plate. But he vowed never to stoop to such debauchery in Charleston. Maybe he believed our fans to be too sophisticated.

To his credit, he once admitted he sometimes rubbed people the wrong way and, in any case, he kept professional baseball alive in our city and is very much a part of our sports lore. He even deserves indirect credit for the movement that gave rise to Appalachian Power Park.

His greatest skill, however, was an ability to fill Watt Powell. The 1989 SAL All-Star Game drew an estimated 6,500 fans - and a reported paid crowd of 7,318 - and it was a lively bunch that serenaded the game's MVP, Reggie Sanders of Greensboro, with chants of "Reggie! Reggie!''

The crowd set a league all-star game record, easily surpassing the previous high of 4,100 set in Macon in 1981.

But how many of those fans actually paid for their tickets that night? We'll chalk that up as a lost part of our baseball lore and a reflection of the Bastien Magic.

It was Bastien's philosophy to attract people to the ballpark even if it meant distributing free and greatly discounted tickets. Bastien knew that once in the park, the fans would buy concessions and souvenirs, make noise, create a festive atmosphere and enjoy themselves enough to make return visits.

Not long after arriving here, he worked out an arrangement with Wendy's in which a fan could purchase a $2 ticket that would admit an entire family. And if 20 or so people showed up claiming to be family, all they needed for admission was one "family member'' in possession of a $2 ticket.

It's also safe to say he found other ways to get tickets in people's hands.

His 1991 Wheelers team, a Cincinnati affiliate, drew a season attendance of 185,389 that set a Watt Powell record, exceeding attendance figures of even our Class AAA teams. Keep in mind that in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Watt Powell's nightly crowds were often 500 or fewer, and season attendance would frequently fall short of 100,000. The 1976 Charlies - a Pittsburgh Class AAA affiliate filled with big-league talent - drew only 72,543.   

The 1991 attendance record stood until Appalachian Power Park opened in 2005. But like the 1989 all-star crowd, we'll never know how many of the 1991 patrons paid their way in to the ballpark.

When the Wheelers won the 1990 SAL championship, a crowd of 4,500 turned out on a dark, overcast Friday evening in September, a night normally reserved for high school football. In attendance that night was John Moss, who had served as the league's president since its inception in 1960. Moss said that to his knowledge it was the largest SAL crowd in playoff history.

On another occasion, Bastien wanted to prove that the Wheelers' 1990 pennant race would keep baseball interest alive in late August, a time when Charleston sports fans traditionally turn their attention to football. And sure enough, he responded with an uncharacteristic crowd of 4,000 at the next home game.

Again, we should attribute it largely to the Bastien Magic. Let's remember it fondly.

Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com.