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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Byrne was born in

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 sinc ...

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 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 t ...

in 1974 as the Player Personnel Director. When that team folded toward the end of the season, Byrne then went to the

Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...

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 as

Mike Ilitch Michael Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American entrepreneur, founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tig ...

with the

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 ...

and

Ted Stepien Theodore J. Stepien (June 9, 1925 – September 10, 2007) was an American businessman who owned the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1983. Born in Pittsburgh in 1925, he became wealthy as the founder ...

with the

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 198 ...

. Byrne was instrumental in bringing the

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 Duri ...

franchise to

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 t ...

. Byrne brought on former

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 ...

star

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 ...

to serve as the first commissioner. The All-Americans last just one season, but the APSPL lasted until 1981 when it merged with the United Professional Softball League (UPSL). That league disbanded in 1982. His most notable achievement was the founding of the

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 w ...

(WBL) which began play in December 1978. The league lasted until 1981. Byrne was undeterred when that league failed and attempted to launch the

Women's American Basketball Association 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 ...

(WABA) in 1984, but teams disbanded before the league could begin. Byrne and his son Hubie also worked on plans for a new football league with former

NFL 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 ...

player

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 Foot ...

in 1989 that never came to fruition. He retired to his home in Columbus, Ohio and died in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Bill 1936 births 2007 deaths Sports in Columbus, Ohio Women's basketball