The Kentucky Bourbons were a professional softball team that played in two
men's professional softball leagues
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several men's professional slow-pitch softball 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-Pi ...
between 1977 and 1982 at Bishop David Stadium in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. The Bourbons,
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, ...
and
Pittsburgh Hardhats were the only three teams to play all 6 seasons of professional softball.
Bourbons in the APSPL
The
American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was formed 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
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 Bourbons were owned by Don Rardin, Sr., who started the team in 1977, but then sold the club the following year to Larry Gatti, who owned several
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
franchises in the
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
area. Both men had sons who would be all-pro players for the Bourbons.
In the 1977 APSPL season the Bourbons won the Central Division finishing eight games ahead of 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 ...
. The Bourbons' 40-16 (.714) record was the 2nd best in the APSPL behind only the 42-14 (.750) tally of the Midwest Division champion and eventual World Series champions
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 ...
. Kentucky lost in the playoff semifinals 2-1 to the East Division champion
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 ...
, led by semi-finals playoff MVP Johnny Dollar. Phil Schroer (15-5 pitching), Bill Gatti (.539, 48 HRs, 127 RBIs) and Don Rardin (.536, 4 HRs, 51 RBIs, 81 runs scored) of the Bourbons made the all-league team. Cobbie Harrison (.437, 17 HRs, 60 RBIs) and Nick Nikitas (.480, 78 runs scored) had solid seasons in support.
In 1978 the Bourbons finished with 30 wins and 34 losses (.469), ten games behind the Central Division champion
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, ...
and failed to make the playoffs. Bill Gatti (.584, 54 HRs, 132 RBIs, 131 runs scored) and Fred Miller (.549, 57 HRs, 141 RBIs) represented the Bourbons on the 1978 All-APSPL team. Fred Miller (.549, 57 HRs, 141 RBIs) and Phil Schrorer (.507, 3 HRs, 58 RBIs, 27-26 pitching) added to the 1978 cause.
The 1979 squad finished with a league best regular season record of 48-15 (.762) and defeated the
Trenton Champales
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 ...
3-0 in the first-round and the
Rochester Zeniths 3-1 in the semi-finals. to advance to the APSPL World Series. Games were featured 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 ...
with the Bourbons losing the series 5-2 to 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 ...
with league and World Series MVP Rick Weiterman.
Phil Schroer (40-8 pitching, 3.84 ERA), Don Rardin (.486, 22 HRs, 87 RBIs), returned from a year with 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, ...
, and Bill Gatti (.533, 20 HRs, 79 RBIs) made the all-APSPL team in 1979. Rardin, Gatti, Cobbie Harrison, Chuck Winders, and Phil Schroer of Kentucky all represented Kentucky in the mid-season all-star game. Winders (.409, 6 HRs, 60 RBIs) and Nick Nikitas .493, 95 runs scored) had productive campaigns in 1979.
1980 was a year of division in professional softball as the
Cleveland Stepien's Competitors,
Fort Wayne Huggie Bears and Milwaukee broke away from the APSPL to form a new league (North American Softball League) in 1980, under the leadership of Cleveland 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 Bourbons continued in the reduced numbers of the APSPL. Stepien placed NASL teams in several APSPL markets, including
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 ...
and
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 ...
, also placing a team, the
Lexington Stallions, in nearby
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
Stepien owned many of the NASL teams, including the Stallions.
The owner of the
Pittsburgh Hardhats of the APSPL brought a challenge in federal court in an attempt to prevent splitting the young professional sport.
Donnie Rardin of the Bourbons was brought on by Stepien and would play for and serve as General Manager for Lexington, former Bourbon Dave Bair would play and manage the team, and ex-Bourbon pitcher Phil Schroer joined them on the Stallions.
Meanwhile, in 1980, the Bourbons were the APSPL regular season best with a record of 49-13 (.790) but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Hardhats 3-2. Steve Stewart (40-14 pitching record), Nick Nikitas (.464, 82 runs scored), former Detroit Caesar Jack Roudebush (.464, 3 HRs, 48 RBIs), Bill Gatti (.483, 21 HRs, 81 RBIs) and Greg Whitlock (.435, 2 HRs, 42 RBIs) won all-league honors in 1980; Gatti led the league in home-runs (21) and RBIs (81).
The UPSL era
The NASL lasted just one season, and the APSPL combined with the NASL for 1980, although the only team from the NASL to come to the new
United Professional Softball League (UPSL) was Milwaukee as other NASL franchises, including Lexington, disbanded. The Bourbons edged into the 1981 USPL playoff with a 36-24 (.600) and a third-place Western Division finish, 6 games back of Cincinnati, but improving as the season went along. It was a season of drama in Louisville as team moved manager Steve Coffman to the front office after a slow start, replacing him with player-manager Cobbie Harrison, catcher Jim Roudebush left the team, and then the team voted to release "talented but tempermental" outfielder Mike LaFever for unprofessional conduct, but would end up allowing him to return later in the season.
The team also lost outfielder Chuck Winders late in the season when he quit the team after an on-field fight with Bill Gatti in Milwaukee, which was followed that same night by player-manager Cobbie Harrison getting into a fight with a Milwaukee fan as the team loaded onto the bus post-game, resulting in Harrison's mother breaking her hip in the fracas.
The drama flowed into the post-season as the Bourbons beat the Schlitz 3-0 (5-4, 13-4, 11-10) in the first round with Jimmie Hammond's sacrifice fly scoring Rick Wilson in the 7th inning of game three to sweep the opening series. The Bourbons would take on the league-best
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 semi-finals, winning 3-2 (2-10, 6-7, 13-12, 4-3, 6-5), including a nail-biting 6-5 victory in the deciding 5th game. The Suds took the first two games, the Bourbons responded by winning the next two, with Dave Whitlock singling in the winning run in a 4-4 game in the bottom of the 7th of the 4th game in the series, only to have the post-game marred when Kentucky fans threw beer cans at Cincinnati players, leading Cincinnati manager Gerry Weidmann to declare, "I can't stand this place." In the 5th game, former Sud Mike O'Brien singled in Rick Wilson in the bottom of the seventh to give the Bourbons a shot at the title.
Bill Gatti said, "it was a team victory, the kind that puts chills down your spine."
![1981 Kentucky Bourbons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/1981_Kentucky_Bourbons.jpg)
Having beaten the two teams with better records in their division, Kentucky would advance to the first UPSL World Series against the
New England Pilgrims. Kentucky dropped the opener, but an impassioned Cobbied Harrison hit three home-runs in the second game to keep the series competitive. The Bourbons swept a pair behind the hitting of Greg Whitlock and Dave Whitlock to go up 3-1 as the best of 9 series moved to the Pilgrims home field. An opening split with the series now in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
set up a double-header. New England took the first game 8-6 to tighten the series, but an explosive start with Rick Wilson homering, Cobbie Harrison with a triple and timely hitting from Greg Kemp and Mike O'Brien, the 14-11 victory secured the first pro softball title for Kentucky 5-3 (12-17, 11-7, 12-6, 16-5, 10-11, 14-11, 6-8, 14-11).
Bourbon Greg Whitlock (.581, 5 RBIs, 3 2Bs, 14 runs scored) was the MVP of the 1981 World Series and Bill Gatti the league MVP, winning the triple crown of home runs (38), RBIs (99) and batting average (.622). Steve Stewart (35-20 pitching), Greg Whitlock (.474, 2 HRs, 37 RBIs) and Dave Whitlock (.443, 19 HRs, 65 RBIs) made the all-UPSL squad with Bourbon player-manager Cobbie Harrison.
Rick Wilson, former basketball standout at the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
, had played with the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
for two seasons. He would begin playing for the Bourbons in 1981 when his NBA career ended, earning regular playing time as an outfielder, and contributed in the World Series win over New England.
In 1982 the Bourbons won the Western Division with a 38-23 (.623) record, earning a first-round bye, but lost in the playoff semifinals to the Milwaukee Schlitz, 3-2, with a 23-22 loss in the 5th game with Milwaukee scoring in the final inning.
The Schlitz advanced and beat
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 ...
5-2 to win the 1982 UPSL title. Bill Gatti (.554, 46 HRs), Greg Whitlock (.535) and Ken Parker (36 HRs, 107 RBIs ) represented Kentucky on the all-league team. Steve Stewart went 35-20 pitching for the Bourbons and Pat Paulson had a strong year hitting .503 with 91 runs scored. Rick Wilson had left the Bourbons early in the 1981 season. The UPSL folded after the conclusion of the 1982 season, ending professional play and returning players to the amateur leagues. The demise of the Bourbons coincided with the arrival of minor-league
AAA baseball
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
in Louisville with the
Louisville Redbirds
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
who would go on to set records for minor league baseball attendance in 1982.
Bourbon third-baseman Bill Gatti is a member of the
American Softball Association
USA Softball (formerly the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and ASA/USA Softball) is the governing body for the United States national softball team. It is a member of the sport's international governing body, the World Baseball Softball Confe ...
Hall of Fame, inducted in 2000, and is also honored in the
United States Slowpitch Softball Association (USSSA) Hall of Fame.
[https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/National-Softball-Hall-of-Fame/Members ]
Kentucky Bourbons year-by-year record
See also
*
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky include amateur and professional sports in baseball, football, horse racing, horse shows, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The city of Louisville and the Louisville metropolitan area have a sporting history from the ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Kentucky Bourbons on Fun While It Lasted Softball History USA Detroit Caesars Online Home National Softball Hall of Fame
Defunct sports teams in Louisville, Kentucky
Softball teams
Sports clubs disestablished in 1982
Sports clubs established in 1977
1977 establishments in Kentucky
1982 disestablishments in Kentucky
Men's professional softball teams