New Book "Living the Wahoos Life" Chronicles a Decade of Blue Wahoos Baseball

PENSACOLA, FL – The Pensacola Blue Wahoos announced on Friday the release of a new book, “Living the Wahoos Life,” that celebrates the franchise’s first decade playing in Pensacola.

Written by longtime local sportswriter and current front office member Bill Vilona, the 208-page book is an intimate account of Quint and Rishy Studer’s journey from attending Pensacola Pelicans games in 2002, to the acquisition of a Southern League franchise in 2012, to the revitalization of downtown Pensacola through the creation of a gorgeous bayfront ballpark.

The book’s foreword is written by professional golfer and Pensacola area native Bubba Watson, who joined the team’s ownership group in 2015 and remains an active part of the organization.

On the field, the book is the story of excitement generated by stars from Billy Hamilton to Eury Pérez and Southern League championships in 2017 and 2022. Off the field, the narrative recalls the hard work of people behind the scenes to create an industry-leading fan experience at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Upon release, the book will be available exclusively to Blue Wahoos season ticket members and longtime staff members as a gesture of appreciation for helping to make the Blue Wahoos a model baseball franchise both on and off the field.

Season ticket members can contact box office manager Brandon Miller ([email protected]) to arrange for their free copy. Other fans interested in purchasing a copy at the retail price of $29.99 can contact [email protected] to be placed on a pre-order wait list.

Author Bill Vilona, a native of Pittsburgh and graduate of the University of Tennessee, joined the Blue Wahoos in 2019 as a senior writer in the media relations department. He had a distinguished 38-year career as a newspaper sportswriter, covering local and national stories for the Pensacola News Journal and the Gannett-USA Today network. The Pensacola Sports Association Hall of Famer now contributes coverage of Blue Wahoos games and community events through team publications.

“Living the Wahoos Life” is produced by The Gratitude Group Publishing, whose books provide tools, techniques and methodology to help individuals feel grateful about themselves, their job and their organization.

Season tickets, group outings and mini plans for the 2024 Pensacola Blue Wahoos season are on sale now at Blue Wahoos Stadium and bluewahoos.com. The Blue Wahoos will host the Mexican League’s Sultanes de Monterrey in an exhibition series April 2 and 3, with Opening Day of the 2024 Southern League season coming Friday, April 5 at home against the Mississippi Braves. Single-game tickets go on sale to the public March 1. News and updates about giveaways, promotions and other special events will be released in the coming weeks.

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. Founded in 2012, they have won Southern League Championships in 2017 and 2022. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for people in their community, and to make Pensacola the best place to live in the world.