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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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock. There are two rule sets for softball generally: ''slow pitch softball'' and ''fastpitch''. Slow pitch softball is commonly played recreationally, while women's fastpitch softball is a Summer Olympic sport and is played professionally. Depending on the variety being played and the age and gender of the players, the particulars of field and equipment vary. While distances between bases of 60 feet are standard across varieties, the pitcher's plate ranges from 35 to 43 feet away from home plate, and the home run fence can be 220 to 300 feet away from home plate. The ball itself is typically 11 or 12 inches (28 or 30 cm) in circumference, also depending on specifics of the competition. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Men's Professional Softball Leagues
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 Bill Byrne, who would go on to found the Women's Professional Basketball League. Former New York Yankees star Whitey Ford was the first APSPL commissioner. In 1980, three teams, the Milwaukee Schlitz, the Fort Wayne Huggie Bears and Cleveland Stepien's Competitors, broke away to form the North American Softball League (NASL), under the leadership of Cleveland owner Ted Stepien, who owned 6 of the 8 teams in the league (only Fort Wayne and Milwaukee had non-Stepien ownership in the new league), while the APSPL continued with just 6 teams. Former M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooper Stadium
Cooper Stadium was a baseball stadium in Columbus, Ohio that was built in 1931 and closed in 2008. It was the home of several minor league teams, including the Columbus Clippers from 1977 to 2008. History Cooper Stadium was built in 1931 as Red Bird Stadium as the home for the then-Columbus Red Birds of the American Association (20th century), American Association, one of the minor league teams of the St. Louis Cardinals. It was constructed using the same blueprints which were used for building Red Wing Stadium in Rochester, New York in 1929. The Cardinals owned both teams when the respective stadiums were built. When the Red Birds moved to Omaha after the 1954 season, the International League's Ottawa Athletics moved to Columbus as the Columbus Jets, Jets and took up residence at the stadium. Accordingly, it was renamed Jets Stadium. The Jets moved out in 1970, and the stadium sat dormant for six years. When the International League granted a new franchise to Columbus, the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property; it folded in 2011. History Gary Davidson, a California lawyer and businessman, was the driving force behind the World Football League. He had helped start the moderately successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association, some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the more established National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, respectively. Unlike his two previous efforts, the World Football League did not bring a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky Bourbons
The Kentucky Bourbons were a professional softball team that played in two men's professional softball leagues between 1977 and 1982 at Bishop David Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bourbons, Cincinnati Suds and Pittsburgh Hardhats were the only three teams to play all 6 seasons of professional softball. Bourbons in the APSPL The American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was formed by former World Football League executive Bill Byrne, who would go on to form the Women's Professional Basketball League. Former New York Yankees player Whitey Ford was brought on to serve as league commissioner. The Bourbons were owned by Don Rardin, Sr., who started the team in 1977, but then sold the club the following year to Larry Gatti, who owned several McDonald's franchises in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Both men had sons who would be all-pro players for the Bourbons. In the 1977 APSPL season the Bourbons won the Central Division finishing eight games ahead of the Cleveland J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detroit Caesars
The Detroit Caesars were a professional softball team played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch Softball League (APSPL) from 1977 to 1979. History Prior to formalized professional play, Detroit was a hotbed for softball, with some of the top players in the country playing in competitive local leagues and for national softball championships. A major sponsor of softball in the Detroit area was Little Caesar's Pizza, whose team had won the 1970 Amateur Softball Association national title with future Caesars Mike Gouin, Tex Collins, and Tony Mazza. Little Caesar's was founded and owned by Mike Ilitch, a former Detroit Tigers farmhand and later the owner of the MLB team, one of several professional sports teams he was eventually to own. The Caesars were his first independent step into professional sports ownership. Ilitch has previously been part-owner of the Detroit Wheels, a football team that played in the World Football League for the 1974 season, and a member of a 33-per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltimore Monuments
The Baltimore Monuments 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 Rips Memorial Stadium in Bowie, Maryland. 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 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. Monuments team history The Monuments finished the 1977 season in first place of the Eastern Division with a record of 33-20 (.623). They defeated the New York Cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Storm (softball)
The Chicago Storm were a professional 12-inch softball team that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) during the 1977 and 1978 seasons. They played their home games at the Windy City Softball Complex in Bridgeview, Illinois in 1977 and then at two different parks in 1978 - Lions Park in Mt. Prospect, Illinois and Community Park in Addison, Illinois. 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 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. Chica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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