The Columbus All-Americans 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 that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) during the 1977 season. They played their home games at

Franklin County 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 Re ...

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 ...

APSPL history

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several men's professional slow-pitch

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 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 ...

executive, and Columbus resident, Bill Byrne, who would go on to form 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 ...

. Former New York Yankees 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 ...

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 would finish the season 16-40 (.286), 24 games behind the Central Division winning

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 ...

. 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 ...

defeated the

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 t ...

4–0 to win the inaugural pro softball World Series behind the hitting of series MVP Mike Nye. A triple crown by Chicago Storm catcher Benny Holt (.690, 89 HRs, 187 RBIs) was honored with the league MVP award. Two All-Americans, shortstop Tom Pappas (.602, 45 RBIs, 68 runs scored) and third-baseman Bill Speaks (.532,17 HRs, 97 RBIs) made the 1977 All-APSPL squad. Ralph Calitri (.475, 9 HRs, 34 RBIs) and Goldie Rich (.445, 23 HRs, 69 RBIs, 62 runs scored) also had solid seasons in support of the All-American cause. The team suffered from poor attendance, had been financed by the league itself in 1977, a fact other teams did not know, and this jeopardize the World Series winner from receiving the promised $50,000 payout. The All-Americans were disbanded just as the 1978 APSPL season was set to begin.

Columbus All-Americans record

References

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External links

APSPL on Fun While It Lasted Softball History USA Detroit Caesars Online Home National Softball Hall of Fame
Softball teams Sports clubs and teams in Columbus, Ohio Men's professional softball teams 1977 establishments in Ohio 1978 disestablishments in Ohio