The Cincinnati Rivermen were a 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 ...
team who played at Newport Recreation Center in
Newport, Kentucky
Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky, Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 United ...
in the
North American Softball League (NASL) during the 1980 season.
League history
Cincinnati was represented by the
Cincinnati Suds
The Cincinnati Suds were a professional softball team that played in two men's professional softball leagues at various stadiums in the Cincinnati, Ohio region from 1977 through 1982. The Suds, Pittsburgh Hardhats (softball), Pittsburgh Hardhats, ...
, who played in the first professional league, the
American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL), beginning with the founding of that league in 1977. But 1980 was a year of division in professional softball as the
Cleveland Stepien's Competitors, the
Fort Wayne Huggie Bears and the
Milwaukee Schlitz
The Milwaukee Schlitz were a professional softball team that played in three men's professional softball leagues from 1977 through 1982 at Wilson Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
History
Milwaukee began play in the inaugural 1977 American Profess ...
broke away from the APSPL to form a new league, the North American Softball League, under the leadership of
Cleveland Stepien's Competitors owner
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 ...
. The Cincinnati Suds continued in the reduced numbers of the APSPL. Stepien placed NASL teams in several APSPL markets, including
Lexington,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, and
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
with the Rivermen. Stepien owned 6 of the 8 teams in the NASL, with only Milwaukee and Fort Wayne having local ownership.
The owner of the
Pittsburgh Hardhats of the APSPL brought an unsuccessful challenge in federal court in an attempt to prevent splitting the young professional sport.
Stepien went into the APSPL markets trying to lure talent away as well. He hired Donnie Rardin, former
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 ...
player, to play and serve as General Manager for the
Lexington Stallions, and did the same in Pittsburgh with Roger Snatchko, former Pittsburgh Hardhat, who would lead the new
Pittsburgh Champions
The Pittsburgh Champions were a professional softball team based in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania that played in the North American Softball League (NASL) in 1980.
Team history
Pittsburgh was represented by the Pittsburgh Hardhats in the first pro ...
. It was much the same in Cincinnati, hiring former Sud Mike LaFever to play and serve as General Manager. LaFever would then draw even more talent from his former team, splitting the Cincinnati professional ranks just before the season was to begin. The Suds would play the 1980 APSPL season at the
Crosley Field
Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...
replica in nearby
Union, Kentucky
is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 7,416 . The area was rural until residential growth in the 1990s and 2000s. Union is located southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Geography
Union is located at ...
.
Cincinnati Rivermen
General Manager and outfielder Mike Lafever brought several Suds players to the Rivermen as outfielders Greg Sandy, Mike O'Brien and Jim Tuttle, player-manager Paul Campbell and infielders Jim Kuhn and Mike LaVangie came to the new team with extensive experience gained with the Suds. But the Rivermen missed the NASL playoffs with a 25-37 (.403), 10.5 games behind the Eastern Division winning
Detroit Auto Kings
The Detroit Auto Kings were a professional softball team that played in the North American Softball League (NASL) in the 1980 season at Memorial Field in East Detroit, Michigan.
League history
Detroit was represented by the Detroit Caesars, wh ...
and 5.5 games behind 2nd place Cleveland. Riverman Jim Kuhn added to the Cleveland-Cincinnati rivalry in June with a bench-clearing brawl with Cleveland pitcher Dana Andry, which resulted in NASL Commissioner Robert Brown suspending Kuhn for a pair of games. Cincinnati hit late July just 2.5 games behind Cleveland for a playoff spot, but a late-season 6-game, three double-header sweep in Detroit cemented the 3rd place finish on the season for the Rivermen.
Mike LaFever (34 HRs, 88 RBIs) and player-manager Paul Campbell (.514 BA) made the NASL all-pro team for the Rivermen.
Mike O'Brien and Jim Tuttle (24 HRs) represented the Rivermen at the mid-season NASL All-Star game in
Willoughby, Ohio
Willoughby is a city in Lake County, Ohio and is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 22,268 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
Willoughby's first permanent settler was David Abbott in 1798, who operated a gristmill. Abbott and his ...
.
The NASL and the Cincinnati Rivermen franchise lasted only one season.
After the season, the NASL and the APSPL officially merged, but only the Milwaukee Schlitz would go to the new United Professional Softball League (UPSL) and the Rivermen disbanded. Of note, the Cincinnati Suds had their worst record in their six seasons of professional softball in the divided year of 1980 and would rebound to a league-leading best record in 1981. Rivermen (O'Brien, LaFever, Campbell) were members of the 1981 UPSL champion Kentucky Bourbons squad and O'Brien would deliver a game-winning hit for Kentucky in the semi-finals to end the Suds shot at a title. The UPSL folded after the 1982 season, bringing an end to the professional softball era for men in the United States as players returned once again to amateur leagues.
Cincinnati Rivermen record
See also
*
Sports in Cincinnati, Ohio
References
{{reflist
External links
Cincinnati Suds on Fun While It Lasted Softball History USA Detroit Caesars Online Home National Softball Hall of Fame
Softball teams in Ohio
Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1982
Sports clubs and teams established in 1977
1977 establishments in Ohio
1982 disestablishments in Ohio
men's professional softball teams
Sports clubs and teams in Cincinnati
Newport, Kentucky