The Minnesota Norsemen 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 1978 and 1979 seasons. The team had played as the Minnesota Goofy's in the 1977 season, changing names for 1978. They played their home games at

Midway Stadium Midway Stadium was the name of two different minor league baseball parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, both now demolished. The name derived from the location of the stadium in St. Paul's Midway area, so named because it is roughly ha ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota.

League 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 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 ...

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.

Minnesota Goofy's

The Minnesota Goofy's, named after a local bar, played in the APSPL in 1977, finishing with a record of 24-30 (.445) and out of the inaugural playoffs. Initial owner Joe Houle ran into financial challenges running the team and sold to Steve Doran mid-season. The Goofys had lost 16 games in a row, Doran fired Manager Dennis Willey and brought in Terry Fredericks to lead the team to finish the season. Minnesota Joe Russell (35 HRs, 111 RBIs) and Gene Parrish (batted .622 with 115 runs scored) made the 1977 all-league team for Minnesota. Bob Boyson (.578 BA), Dale Palm (42 HRs) and Mike Perfetti (437, 33 HRs, 68 RBIs) had solid seasons in support for the Goofy's. Benny Holt of the

Chicago Storm (softball) The Chicago Storm were a professional 12-inch softball team that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) during the 1977 and 1978 seasons. They played their home games at the Windy City Softball Complex in Bridgeview, Illin ...

won the triple crown and league MVP, 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 ...

winning the first professional softball World Series trophy. Minnesota in 1977 briefly featured former Minnesota Twin and 1965 American League MVP

Zoilo Versalles Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins. He was the catalyst wh ...

, who played until early July before hanging up his softball spikes. The Goofy's were sold mid-season and renamed the Norseman for 1978.

Minnesota Norsemen

With the sale of the Goofys, new ownership finalized a rebranding as the Minnesota Norsemen and greatly improved the team on-the-field for 1978. The Norseman finished the 1978 season with a record of 40-24 (.625), receiving a first round bye in the APSPL playoffs. They defeated 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 second round 2–0 to advance to the professional softball World Series. Minnesota lost to the Detroit Caesars 4–0 with Bert Smith honored as series MVP. Ron Ford of Detroit was the league MVP. John Locke (.582, 65 HRs, 136 RBIs), Bob McMahon (.556, 59 HRs, 120 RBIs), Joe Russell (53 HRs), Dale Palm (.614, 70 HRs, 166 RBIs) and Gene Parrish (.634 BA, 23 HRs, 90 RBIs)) of Minnesota made the all-league team. Lou Boone hit 45 home-runs for the Norsemen and Gordie Handevidt batted .541 in support. The team added APSPL all-pro Buddy Haines from the Chicago Storm in the off-season, but Minnesota just missed out on the playoffs in 1979 with a 32-32 (.500) record, 8.5 game behind Midwestern Division winners

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 ...

. Milwaukee defeated 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 ...

in the World Series 5–3. The series were broadcast nationwide as the first televised event 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 ...

. Gene Parrish was the only Norseman to make the APSPL all-star team in 1979, batting .511 on the season. Parrish, John Locke (33 HRs) and manager Rich Finke represented Minnesota on the mid-season All-Star roster. Bob Lurtsema, former

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

defensive end, pitched for the Norseman in 1979. Political infighting and inconsistent commitment from other team owners in the APSPL led Norsemen owner Steve Doran to disband the team at the end of the season.

Minnesota year-by-year record

References

{{reflist

External links

Minnesota Norsemen on Fun While It Lasted Softball History USA Detroit Caesars Online Home National Softball Hall of Fame
Softball teams Sports clubs established in 1978 Sports teams in Minnesota 1978 establishments in Minnesota 1979 disestablishments in Minnesota Sports clubs disestablished in 1979 men's professional softball teams