Jordan Cruiser Coming to Washington D.C.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Jordan Cruiser has been promoted from the minor leagues -- and casino duty.

The luxury charter bus that carried former NBA great Michael Jordan around the South during his foray into minor league baseball has been sold to a Washington, D.C., bus company for more run-of-the-mill charter trips.

The 45-foot bus became a symbol of Jordan's failed 1994 attempt to make it in baseball with the Double A Birmingham Barons, a farm team for the Chicago White Sox.

Jim Thrasher, owner of Thrasher Brothers Tours, said he has sold the coach, nicknamed the Jordan Cruiser, to Wilson Bus Lines. The Washington, D.C., company plans to use it for basic charter duty and it is already making regular runs to New York, Thrasher said.

The Barons got to travel in unaccustomed style, thanks to Jordan. The bus has reclining seats, televisions and a U-shaped lounge area in the back.

Its unveiling in the Hoover Met parking lot was covered by camera crews from 22 countries.

"He was a very nice guy and when he got here, we spent a couple of hours talking buses," Thrasher told The Birmingham News in a story Thursday. "He just had a lot of money and wanted to travel in comfort."

Thrasher bought the bus from an Illinois company. In exchange, Jordan agreed to do promotional work for Thrasher's company throughout the summer.

The bus transported the Barons for a few more years and later became part of Thrasher's regular charter fleet. It was used for trips to the Mississippi casinos in recent years.

The Jordan connection helped Thrasher sell the 12-year-old bus for a profit, though he wouldn't disclose a sales price. Jordan, now a part-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, had signed his name on the side door.

"It wound up being a pretty valuable bus," Thrasher said.