Bill Byrne (sports Entrepreneur)
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Bill Byrne (sports Entrepreneur)
Bill Byrne (14 June 1936 – 6 March 2007) was a sports entrepreneur who founded the first women's professional basketball league in the United States. Byrne was born in Stoutsville, Ohio and founded the National Scouting Association (NSA) which represented student-athletes from the collegiate and amateur ranks to seek professional football opportunities. He then founded the Columbus Bucks, a semi-professional football team, playing in the Midwest Football League (MFL) and served as commissioner. Byrne was hired by the Chicago Fire of the start-up World Football League in 1974 as the Player Personnel Director. When that team folded toward the end of the season, Byrne then went to the Shreveport Steamer for the 1975 WFL season in a similar role. The World Football League folded toward the end of the season. Byrne then went on to found the American Professional Slo-Pitch Softball League (APSPL) in 1977, the first professional softball league in the US, attracting owners such ...
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Stoutsville, Ohio
Stoutsville is a village in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 579 at the 2020 census. History Benjamin Stout laid out Stoutsville in 1854, and named it for himself. A post office has been in operation at Stoutsville since 1855. Geography Stoutsville is located at (39.604428, -82.827648). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 560 people, 211 households, and 150 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 234 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.8% White and 0.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population. There were 211 households, of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with n ...
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Columbus All-Americans
The Columbus All-Americans were a professional softball team that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) during the 1977 season. They played their home games at Franklin County Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. APSPL history During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several men's professional slow-pitch softball leagues were formed in the United States to build on the growth and talent in the booming men's amateur game during this period. The American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was the first such league, launching in an era of experimentation in professional sports leagues. The APSPL was formed in 1977 by former World Football League executive, and Columbus resident, Bill Byrne, who would go on to form the Women's Professional Basketball League. Former New York Yankees star Whitey Ford was the first league commissioner. All-Americans history Columbus added local softball standouts Gary Pefley and Jud Boley as the season began, but the All-Americans wou ...
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2007 Deaths
This is a list of deaths of notable people, organised by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked here. 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 See also * Lists of deaths by day The following pages, corresponding to the Gregorian calendar, list the historical events, births, deaths, and holidays and observances of the specified day of the year: Footnotes See also * Leap year * List of calendars * List of non-standard ... * Deaths by year {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ...
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1936 Births
Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII. * January 28 – Britain's King George V state funeral takes place in London and Windsor. He is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle * February 4 – Radium E (bismuth-210) becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically. * February 6 – The 1936 Winter Olympics, IV Olympic Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. * February 10–February 19, 19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire. * February 16 – 1936 Spanish general election: The left-wing Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front coalition takes a majority. * February 26 – February 26 Inci ...
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Jim Spavital
James J. Spavital (September 15, 1926 – March 7, 1993) was an American gridiron football player, coach and executive in six different professional football leagues. He served as the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1970 to 1973 and as head coach of the Chicago Fire of the World Football League (WFL) in 1974. Spavital was the general manager of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1979 to 1982 and the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983. Playing career Spavital played for the All-America Football Conference's Los Angeles Dons in 1949 and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts during the 1950 season. As a starter in 1950 he had 246 rushing yards and 238 receiving. His 96-yard rush against the Green Bay Packers on November 5, 1950 is the fourth longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. As an Airborne reservist, Spavital was called up in 1951 to serve in the Korean War. His repo ...
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National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week In sport, a bye is the preferential status of a player or team that is automatically advanced to the next round of a tournament, without having to play an opponent in an early round. In knockout (elimination) tournaments they can be granted eit .... Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the p ...
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Women's American Basketball Association (1984)
The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It now has over 20 teams across the country. Season 4 was cancelled in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. There have been previous women's professional basketball leagues in the United States known by the same name and a similar name, the Women's Basketball Association, some of which are described below, but the current league is not a continuation of any of those and is unrelated to them in any way other than by similarity of name and the sport played. WABA (1984) The first Women's American Basketball Association was founded by Bill Byrne, founder of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), in hopes of cashing in on the USA Olympic team's success in Los Angeles in 1984. While some talented players played in the league (including Nancy Lieberman, Molly Bolin, Pamela McGee and Paula McGee) most of the league's teams folded before the league championship, which was ...
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Women's Professional Basketball League
The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States. Formation and 1978–79 season The WPBL was founded by sports entrepreneur Bill Byrne (sports entrepreneur), Bill Byrne. The league began with a player draft held in Manhattan's JW Marriott Essex House, Essex House in July 1978, with eight teams participating. While few of the teams had firm commitments on playing locations (or team names, for that matter), the league planned to play a 34-game season with teams in Chicago, Houston, Iowa, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York City and Washington, D.C. Houston drafted Ann Meyers from University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA, while New Jersey's top choice Carol Blazejowski of Montclair State University, Montclair State College said tha ...
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Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was a 10-time All-Star and 6-time World Series champion. In 1961, he won both the Cy Young Award and World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Ford led the American League (AL) in wins three times and in earned run average twice. He is the Yankees franchise leader in career wins (236), shutouts (45), innings pitched (), and games started by a pitcher (438; tied with Andy Pettitte). Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Ford signed with the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1947 and made his major league debut in 1950. Following a two-year sojourn to serve in the United States Army during the Korean War, Ford returned to the Yankees in 1953 and pitched for them until retiring in 1967. During his tenure with the t ...
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New York Yankee
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other is the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the current team of the same name) after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in . The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, a limited liability company that is controlled by the family of the late George Steinbrenner, who purchased the team in 1973. Brian Cashman is the team's general manager, and Aaron Boone is the team's field manager. The team's home games were played at the original Yankee ...
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Cleveland Competitors
The Cleveland Jaybirds (1977–78), later named the Cleveland Stepien's Competitors (1979–80) and finally the Cleveland Competitors (1982), were a professional softball team that played in three professional softball leagues between 1978 and 1982 at two different locations in the Cleveland, Ohio area. History During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several men's professional slow-pitch softball leagues were formed in the United States to build on the growth and talent in the booming men's amateur game during this period. The American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was the first such league, launching in an era of experimentation in professional sports leagues. The APSPL was formed in 1977 by former World Football League front-office executive Bill Byrne with former New York Yankees star Whitey Ford as commissioner. Jay Friedman, owner of Erie Sheet Metal, launched the Cleveland Jaybirds in the inaugural 1977 APSPL season. Don Rardin, Sr., owner of the Kentucky Bourbo ...
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Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and the third-most populous state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. The metropolitan area had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest in the U.S. Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River. Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, was the first European settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and laid out to become the state capital. The city was named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. ...
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