Joe Gregory named GM of Norfolk Tides

Staff report

NORFOLK, VA.

Joe Gregory, a former executive with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Youngstown SteelHounds, was appointed on Tuesday as general manager of the Norfolk Tides, the Triple A franchise of the Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s a big honor for me,” said the 2001 graduate of Youngstown State University who will continue to be general manager for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League. “I’m pretty thrilled about it.”

Gregory, a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High, replaces Dave Rosenfield who has been with the franchise for 50 seasons.

“It’s time to take a step to the side and let some younger talent take over,” Rosenfield said. “I am very pleased that Joe will be coming to the Tides as the General Manager. He has proven to be an effective sports franchise operator and Ken and I have the utmost confidence he will succeed here.”

Gregry called Rosenfield “the gold standard when it comes to general managers. The great thing for me is that he’s still going to be there as someone I can rely on as a resource.”

The move to Virginia has been a good one for the former SteelHounds general manager.

In June 2008 after the SteelHounds were booted from the Central Hockey League, Gregory joined the Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tides owner Ken Young also owns the Admirals.

“Joe Gregory has proven to us that he deserves the opportunity to lead both teams in this market,” Young said. “He has established relationships with many sponsors who have applauded his efforts in service and the fan experience he has engineered with the Admirals.

“We see a very simple transition for Joe who has worked with Dave going into his fourth year of hockey in Norfolk.”

In March 2006 at the end of the SteelHounds first season at the then-Chevrolet Centre, Gregory was named general manager where he ran the day-to-day operations for the professional hockey team owned by Herb Washington.

Prior to joining the SteelHounds, Gregory was the assistant general manager for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. There, he oversaw all sponsorship and advertising sales and cultivated community relationships.

“I’ve actually never played Little League baseball, but I never played hockey either,” Gregory said. “For me, the business side is what they trust you with.”

As with his hockey position, Gregory’s responsibility involves business decisions of a minor-league franchise. With hockey running from October to April and baseball going from April into September, Gregory laughed when asked when his down time would be.

“That’s a good question, I don’t believe there will be an offseason,” Gregory said. “I have to learn to take full advantage of my days off.”