After several feasibility meetings, the group extended invitations to other area businessmen to join the organization. The first formal meeting of the baseball enthusiasts was held on July 9, 1960, at Memorial Stadium, and was attended by 25 individuals, including three officials of the Baltimore Orioles.

That initial meeting was significant because two issues were decided that would remain an integral part of the organization for the next 40 years: "The Oriole Advocates" was adopted as the official name of the organization, and its purpose was established as "an organization of volunteers joined together to promote and stimulate an interest in baseball at all levels, among youths of all ages."

From that innocuous beginning, the Advocates grew to its present size of approximately 100 men and women, representing diversified interests and occupations, but united by a common bond - a love of baseball.

The first promotion staged by the Advocates was Camera Day, in 1961, which allowed fans to photograph their favorite Orioles' players on the infield of Memorial Stadium. The very popular event remained an annual fixture for the next decade.

In the years that followed, there were many joint undertakings between the Advocates and the Orioles, including the Orioles Hall of Fame, started in 1976, Little league Clinics, and the Junior Orioles program. Introduced in 1962, the Junior Orioles program has evolved into the O's Dugout Club, and has attracted over a quarter-million members age 16 or younger, the majority of whom have remained Orioles fans as adults.

The longest-running cooperative effort between the two groups, however, is one of which most baseball fans are unaware. Each season the Orioles hold various pre-game promotions where fans receive premium items, including bats, balls, caps and mugs, when they enter the stadium. The men and women who distribute those items to fans are members of the Oriole Advocates.

The Advocates were one of the main sponsors of the 1967 effort to the restore the Baltimore house where Babe Ruth was born and convert it into a museum. The house is now an established attraction and monument to "The Babe," attracting visitors from around the world, and the Advocates remain a major sponsor of the Babe Ruth Museum.

Since 1972, the Advocates have supported amateur baseball through a unique program under which sports equipment is donated to needy groups and organized leagues. Through 1984 the program has furnished approximately $90,000 in equipment to such organizations.

Also in 1972, the Advocates made another unique contribution to local baseball in the form of a parade float. The specially decorated vehicle was made available to Little Leagues and communities for their parades, and often was the only motorized entry in a given parade. The Advocates received numerous awards, commendations, and letters of appreciation from grateful parade organizers for the float's appearance.

Another contribution to local baseball by the organization is sponsorship of the complex at Essex Community College, which is recognized as one of the finest amateur baseball parks in the State.

A sports writer once described the Advocates thus: "a unique group of men and women from all walks of life joined by an unflinching love of baseball, the Oriole Advocates may be the only organization of its kind in the world." A more meaningful tribute is the fact that of the nine charter members, six were active 25 years later, with the remaining three deceased. That is a clear indication of the camaraderie and stability of the organization as well as a declaration to the popularity of baseball.