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
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
His ...
national title with future Caesars Mike Gouin, Tex Collins, and Tony Mazza. Little Caesar's was founded and owned by
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 ...
, a former
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
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
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League.
Founding
Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...
, a football team that played in the
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 ...
for the 1974 season, and a member of a 33-person ownership group that included Motown singer
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
.
The APSPL was formed by former World Football League executive
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
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
player
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 brought on to serve as league commissioner. The Caesars would play at Memorial Field in
East Detroit
Eastpointe (formerly East Detroit) is a city on the southern edge of Macomb County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,442. Eastpointe forms a part of the Metro Detroit area. It borders 8 Mile Road on the ...
, a small
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of Detroit, and with promotions tied in with the pizza chain, Ilitch signed former Detroit Tiger stars,
Jim Northrup,
Mickey Stanley
Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley (born July 20, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player.
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stanley signed with the Detroit Tigers organization in 1960. After four years in the Tigers' minor leagu ...
,
Jim Price and
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash (November 10, 1933 – October 11, 1986) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. A power hitter, his 377 career home runs were the fourth most by an America ...
to play part-time and promotional roles to boost attendance. Amateur all-world softball players Mike Nye, Ron Ford, Bert Smith, Mike Gouin and Tex Collins were signed to play for the Caesars. Showing his financial commitment to winning, Ilitch even signed Ford and Nye to personal service contracts with Little Caesar's, employing them through the company, and did the same for Cash and Northrup.
In 1977, Ford and Nye would make $25,000 a year with the Caesars as a result; Northtrup and Cash $30,000. The Major League Baseball minimum salary in 1977 was $19,000.
The team was led by manager Gary Vitto, and the Caesars would win two World Series titles before disbanding after the 1979 season. Vitto would go on to serve as General Manager of the
Detroit Drive
The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and then served in the front office of the Detroit Tigers until his death in 2001.
Five members of the Detroit Caesars are in the American Softball Association Hall of Fame - Mike Gouin, Carl "Tex" Collins, Mike Nye, Ron Ford and Bert Smith. In addition, former Caesars Cal Carmen, Gary Vitto and Chuck Drewicz are members of the
United States Slowpitch Softball Association (USSSA) Hall of Fame.
1977 APSPL champions
In 1977, Detroit dominated the league with a league-best record of 42–14, two games ahead of the
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 ...
' 40–16 mark.
The opening series against the
Chicago Storm got attention in the league as the Caesars hit 49 home-runs in winning 3 of a 4-game series in Chicago (28-21, 25–27, 31–18, 46-24). Chicago owner Lou Knudston said of the Caesars, "they've got a bunch of guys who stand 6'4" and weigh about 280, and they walk up there and whack it out of sight." He proposed modifying stadiums and deadening balls after that first weekend. In the post-season, Detroit and Kentucky received first-round playoff byes and the Caesars beat the
Cleveland Jaybirds
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 ...
2–1 (4–7, 22–5, 8–6) in a tight series as Jaybird pitcher took advantage of the larger Trechter Stadium in
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 ...
to negate the power-game of Detroit in the opener. Gary Geister hit a pair of 3-run homers to lead a blowout in the second game, and then delivered a 2-run home-run in the 4th inning of the 3rd and deciding game to take the series.
Detroit advanced to the first professional softball World Series against 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 ...
and hosted the series with the league-best record. The Caesars would dominate the series and win 4–0 (18–16, 13–8, 25–16, 28–11) with Mike Nye (.600, 2 HRs) taking the MVP trophy.
![1978 Detroit Caesars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/1978_Detroit_Caesars.jpg)
Six Caesars made the all-league team - Mike Gouin (.561 BA, 35 HRs, 124 RBIs), Ron Ford (.607, 85 HRs, 184 RBIs, 150 runs scored), Mike Nye (.659, 36 HRs, 104 RBIs), Bert Smith (.512, 53 HRs, 122 RBIs), Tony Mazza (23-6 pitching record) and Doug Gerdes (.599, 60 HRs, 124 RBIs). Caesars Jim Mitchell (.603, 37 HRs, 77 RBIs), Al Gibson (.527, 26 HRs, 60 RBIs) and Tex Collins (.569, 61 HRs, 119 RBIs) had excellent seasons in support. Only a triple-crown performance by league MVP
Chicago Storm catcher Benny Holt (.690, 89 HRs, 187 RBIs) could overshadow the individual performances by various Caesars.
1978 APSPL champions
Ilitch made the team even better for 1978, adding Rick Trudeau, Larry Elkins and Chuck Drewicz from Snyder's, a Detroit amateur softball power who had won the 1975 and 1976 USSSA national title (runner-up in 1977). Cleveland manager Tom Bruening said before their season opener, "we'll be overpowered by Detroit. There is no way you can stop them." The Caesars rolled again in 1978 with another league best record, 49–15 (.766), 9 games ahead of the
Minnesota Norsemen
The Minnesota Norsemen were a professional softball team that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. The team had played as the Minnesota Goofy's in the 1977 season, changing names for 1978. ...
in the Midwestern Division, and received a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the APSPL semifinals the Caesars again faced Cleveland, winning 2–0 (27–22, 30–24), and advancing to face Minnesota, with the second-best league record, in the World Series. The Caesars would repeat as professional softball champions with a dominating 4–0 victory (22–16, 50–12, 24–16, 26–12) as Detroit's Bert Smith hit 15–16 (.940) with 5 home-runs and 16 RBIs to earn the series MVP. Smith's only out was a base hit that was disallowed when Bert was called for stepping on the plate.
Seven Detroit players were all-league - Ron Ford (.645, 80 HRs, 201 RBIs), Mike Nye (.654, 33 HRs, 110 RBIs), Doug Gerdes (53 HRs, 112 RBIs), Gary Geister (45 HRs, 106 RBIs), Mike Gouin (.601 BA), Jack Roudebush (.579 BA) and newcomer Chuck Drewicz (25-5 pitching record). Larry Elkins (.488, 27 HRs, 76 RBIs) and Bert Smith (.529, 42 HRs, 104 RBIs) had productive campaigns as well.
The mid-season 1978 APSPL All-Star game actually featured the Caesars playing a team of all-stars chosen from all the other teams. The Caesars took the double-header (14-9, 8-3).
Ron Ford of Detroit was edged out in the last game of the season by teammate Mike Nye in batting percentage (.654 to .645) to prevent his taking of triple-crown honors, but still took home league MVP. Manager Gary Vitto offered to sit the two Caesars stars in the last game of the season as they were essentially tied for the battle title, but they elected to play and compete on the field. Ford went 2-5 and Nye 6–6 with two grand slams to take the batting crown. Detroit owner Ilitch made news in 1978 when he offered $30,000 for the contract of former MLB player
Joe Pepitone
Joseph Anthony Pepitone (born October 9, 1940) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played the bulk of his career for the New York Yankees. He also played several seasons with the Chicago Cubs and had short stints wi ...
of the
Trenton Statesmen
Trenton may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Trenton, Nova Scotia, a town
*Trenton, Ontario, an unincorporated community
*CFB Trenton, a Canadian Forces Base near Trenton, Ontario
United States
*Trenton, New Jersey, the capital of the state of New Jers ...
. The offer was rejected.
![Ford Batting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Ford_Batting.jpg)
After having no broadcast coverage in 1977, the Caesars had their home games carried by
WBRB
WBRB is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Buckhannon, West Virginia, serving North Central West Virginia. WBRB is owned and operated by West Virginia Radio Corporation.
References
External links
101.3 The Bear Online*
...
radio (AM 1430 and FM 102.7) in 1978.
1979 APSPL season
Early season injuries to Ron Ford, Mike Nye and Bert Smith had the Caesars off to a less than dominant start in 1979. Rick Trudeau, Charles Mitchell and Mike Gouin were hurt as well, missing 26 games among them. The Caesars also switched radio stations, as
WMZK (FM 97.9) carried the club's home games in 1979.
A summer hot streak aside, the Caesars backed up and the rival
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 ...
, led by APSPL star Phil Higgins and league and eventual APSPL World Series MVP Rick Weiterman, were ready. Detroit would finish second in the Midwestern Division behind Milwaukee and advanced to play 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, ...
in the first round of the playoffs winning 3–2 (18–8, 7–8, 11–14, 3–1, 7–6) when the Suds 5-run 7th inning rally came up one run short of tying the game. Detroit advanced to the semifinals, losing to the surging Schlitz 3–0 (11–5, 7–4, 5–1). Milwaukee went on to beat the Kentucky Bourbons 5–3 in the APSPL World Series, broadcast nationwide on the new start-up sports network
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. Detroit Caesar and former
Detroit Tiger Jim Price was part of the broadcast team for the series.
ESPN Broadcast, 1979 APSPL World Series, Game 8, Milwaukee at Kentucky
The APSPL had also instituted several rule changes in 1979, including moving the base paths to 70 feet from 65, moving the pitcher's mound to 49-feet and several of the fields lengthened their dimensions to 315–330 feet from 300-feet in an effort to promote a less power-oriented game. The league also had Detroit and Cleveland use a different ball in home games.
Offensive production dropped as a result league wide. On Detroit, Ron Ford's home run total dropped from 80 in 1978 to 43 and RBIs fell from 201 to 122 in the same number of league games and Ford still led the league in both categories, even with missing 21 games due to injury. Ford batted .617, but was not officially recognized as the batting champion due to not having enough at bats for eligibility, missing out on the triple crown as a result.
Four Caesars took all-league honors - Ron Ford (.617, 43 HRs, 122 RBIs), Mike Nye (.503, 78 runs scored), Doug Gerdes (.500, 31 HRs, 97 RBIs) and Rick Trudeau (.549 BA). Cal Carmen (.511, 4 HRs, 32 RBIs) and Gary Geister (.464, 28 HRs, 78 RBIs) had good seasons as well.
Despite strong attendance and fan interest, Ilitch was losing money on the team.
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
owner Ted Stepien intended to split the young professional sport, forming a new league, which
Pittsburgh Hardhats ownership challenged in court. Stepien even offered to buy the Caesars from Ilitch for $100,000, but Ilitch would not sell the team with the Caesars name.
Weary of the in-fighting, Ilitch disbanded the Caesars after three seasons.
Detroit Caesars year-by-year record
Detroit Auto Kings and Softball City
Instability in other markets and internal political fighting saw three teams (Fort Wayne, Cleveland and Milwaukee) leave the APSPL to form the
North American Softball League (NASL) under the leadership of Cleveland owner Ted Stepien. The APSPL continued with just 6 teams (down from 12 in each of the previous 3 seasons). The
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 ...
, owned by Stepien, were formed as part of the new league and also played at Memorial Field. Several Caesars, including Mike Gouin, Dan Murphy, Tony Mazza and Gary Geister, played for the Auto Kings along with former Detroit Tiger
Mickey Stanley
Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley (born July 20, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player.
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stanley signed with the Detroit Tigers organization in 1960. After four years in the Tigers' minor leagu ...
. The Auto Kings advanced to the playoffs with a 34–23 record winning the semifinals 4–1 over
Cleveland Stepien's Competitors. Detroit would advance to the NASL World Series and lose to the Milwaukee Schlitz 5–2. Ken Parker of Milwaukee would take the World Series MVP trophy while Ron Olesiak of Chicago was the league MVP. Mike Turk of the Auto Kings was the sole Detroit representative on the 1980 NASL All-Pro team.
The NASL and the APSPL merged after the 1980 season to form a new league, the
United Professional Softball League (UPSL), and the Auto Kings disbanded. There was no Detroit team in the 1981 UPSL season. In 1982,
Detroit Softball City
Detroit Softball City was a professional softball team that played during the 1982 season in the United Professional Softball League (UPSPL). Detroit Softball City played at and was named for a large recreational softball complex on the grounds of ...
, playing at and named for a large softball complex on the grounds of the
Michigan State Fair
The Michigan State Fair is an annual event originally held from 1849 to 2009 in Detroit, the state's largest city. In 2009 the governor declined to fund it because of other priorities.
Because agriculture still has a major place in the Michigan ec ...
, played in the UPSL and were led by Charles Mitchell, along with former Caesars Rick Trudeau, Chuck Drewicz, Doug Gerdes, Gary Geister and manager Gary Vitto. Detroit Softball City finished second in the division to
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 ...
with a record of 36–20, advancing to the playoffs against the
South Jersey Athletics
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
, winning 3–0 in the first round, and then defeating Cleveland 3–2 in the semi-finals 3–2. Detroit would lose in the UPSL World Series to Milwaukee 5–1 with the Schlitz led by World Series MVP Dick Laba. Dana Andry of Cleveland was the UPSL MVP and Charles Mitchell of Detroit made the All-UPSL team. That was the last year for professional softball in the US as players once again returned to amateur leagues.
Auto Kings and Softball City record
References
{{reflist
External links
Detroit Caesars Online HomeDetroit Caesars on FunWhileItLasted.net ESPN First Broadcast - Journal Sentinel Softball History USA National Softball Hall of Fame
Softball teams
Sports teams in Detroit
Sports clubs established in 1977
1977 establishments in Michigan
Men's professional softball teams
Defunct sports teams in Michigan