The 2006 National Pro Fastpitch season was the third season of professional

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 Hanc ...

under the name

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

(NPF) for the only professional women's

fastpitch softball Fastpitch softball, also known as fastpitch or fastball, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Fast pitch is considered the most competitive for ...

league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.

Teams, cities and stadiums

Milestones and events

2004 NPF champion

New York Juggernaut New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and the

California Sunbirds The California Sunbirds were a women's professional softball team based in Stockton, CA. They were one of the founding members of National Pro Fastpitch in 2004. The team folded shortly after the 2005 season concluded. Franchise history The C ...

(who played a partial schedule in 2005) were not on the 2006 schedule and ceased operations. In September 2005, NPF announced the addition of the expansion team

Philadelphia Force The Philadelphia Force was a women's professional softball team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 2006 to 2009, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league until a failed sale in September 2009 put an end to the team on hia ...

, owned by brothers William M. and John M. Thompson. The Force named Patriots Park in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

, as their home stadium. One of their first signings included 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist

Natasha Watley Natasha Renee Watley (born November 27, 1981) is an American, former collegiate four-time first-team All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired seven-time pro All-Star softball player. Watley played college softball at UCLA, and h ...

. The Force did play at ECTB Stadium at Bicentennial Park in Allentown. NPF announced that Patrick J. Linden had become their new president. An attorney, Linden has experience as counsel for the NPF owner's group.

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2006 NPF Senior Draft was held 138, 2006 via conference call.

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Su ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

was selected first by the

Connecticut Brakettes The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments (28 ). History The team was founded in 1947 by William S. Simpson a ...

. Osterman opted not to sign with the Brakettes, becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.

Notable transactions

Sarah Pauly Sarah Jo Pauly (born January 24, 1983) is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired 7-time professional All-Star, right-handed softball pitcher and coach originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She played college softball at Texas A&M–C ...

signed her initial NPF contract, as the first player signed by the

. In 2005 as a member of the amateur Stratford Brakettes, Pauly pitched against NPF teams.

League standings

Source NPF's 2006 schedule was 48 games for each team, including seven four-game home series and five four-game road series. On the schedule were games against national teams from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

, as well as Denso Japan, a professional team. The USA Softball Team,

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Team and the Michigan Ice, a hopeful for NPF membership, were also scheduled as opponents. The results counted in the NPF's team records.

NPF Championship

The 2006 NPF Championship Series was held at

Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field The Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field is a state-of-the-art softball facility located in Stratford, Connecticut. It is the home of the Connecticut Brakettes The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Conn ...

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...

August 26 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket. The championship game was scheduled for August 27, but rain forced it to be moved to August 28.

Championship Game

Annual awards

Source:

References

External links

* Softball teams 2006 in women's softball 2006 in American women's sports Softball in the United States