The Philadelphia Athletics, later named the South Jersey Athletics, were a professional softball team that played in two professional softball leagues at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(1978), Dyer Field in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

(1979-1980) and finally the Cjonacki Sports Complex in

Berlin, New Jersey Berlin is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 7,588,

League history

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

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 ...

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 ...

front-office executive Bill Byrne, who would go on to found the Women's Professional Basketball League. 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 APSPL commissioner. The Philadelphia Athletics joined the APSPL in the 1978 season. In 1980, three teams, Fort Wayne, Milwaukee and Cleveland broke away to form the North American Softball League (NASL) under the leadership of

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 ...

, who owned 6 of the 8 teams in the league (only Fort Wayne and Milwaukee had non-Stepien ownership), while the APSPL continued with just 6 teams. Philadelphia remained in the APSPL. The NASL lasted one season. In 1981 the APSPL merged with NASL to create the United Professional Softball League (UPSL), but only the Milwaukee franchise came from the NASL to the new league as the other NASL teams folded. The Athletics moved to New Jersey in 1981 and became the South Jersey Athletics. The merged league competed for two seasons, before disbanding after the 1982 season, ending the pro era of men's softball. The Athletics had a nomadic existence, starting play in 1978 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia with a capacity of over 60,000. The A's, with a high attendance mark of 4700 spectators, lost over $200,000 under the direction of President Valentino Piacentino. Seeking a more stable situation, the team moved to Wilmington, Delaware, but suffered from poor attendance. The team eventually found a home in New Jersey, changed the name from the Philadelphia Athletics to the South Jersey Athletics, and the franchise stabilized until professional softball played ended in 1982.

Philadelphia Athletics

The Athletics brought on former

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

star

Johnny Callison John Wesley Callison (March 12, 1939 – October 12, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons and is best known for the 10 years he spent with the Philadelphia Phillies as a right ...

to serve as player-coach but he would resign after a 10-25 start, citing the need to return to his business commitments. The team struggled on-the field at Veterans Stadium in 1978, finishing the season 29-35 (.453), 2nd in the Eastern Division to the New England Pilgrims advancing to the playoffs with their 2nd place divisional finish. Philadelphia lost to 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 ...

in the first round of the playoffs 2–1 (10-16, 8-4, 26-22), dropping the third game in a slug-fest Cleveland took 26–22. 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 ...

won the 1977 APSPL World Series with Mike Nye of Detroit winning the series MVP. Benny Holt of the Chicago Storm won the triple crown and was honored as league MVP. Johnny Dollar (.571, 15 HRs, 81 RBIs) was the Athletics sole representative on the 1978 All-APSPL team. Cliff Yeager (.621, 3 HRs, 48 RBIs), Pete Simonelli (.500, 9 HRs, 31 RBIs, 65 runs scored) and Lawrence "Boom Boom" Hutcherson (.486, 43 HRs, 125 RBIs), who had come to the Athletics from the defunct

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 ...

, had solid seasons in support. The Athletics also featured former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

star, and Pennsylvania native,

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson William Arthur Johnson (born January 27, 1952), better known as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 throug ...

(.349, 4 HRs, 19 RBIs). Poor attendance and financial losses playing at Veterans Stadium had owner Butch Piacentino looking for a new home by the end of the season. The team moved to Delaware in 1979 but retained the Philadelphia Athletics name. The move did not benefit the win-loss record as the Athletics struggled to a 23-41 (.359) finish, 3rd place in the Eastern Division, 13 games behind the

Rochester Zeniths (softball) Rochester Zeniths is the name of: *Rochester Zeniths (basketball) The Rochester Zeniths were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester at the Dome Arena a ...

, and out of the playoffs. Ron Dorsey and Lawrence Hutcherson made the mid-season All-Star team. The Milwaukee Schlitz took the APSPL title in 1979 over Kentucky, with Schlitz player Rick Weiterman winning both the series and league MVP awards. Hutcherson (.533, 12 HRs, 57 RBIs) and Dorsey (.433, 16 HRs, 77 RBIs) had strong seasons for the Athletics. 1980 was a similar struggle as the Athletics went 21-43 (.328) and out of the playoffs as Hutcherson and Dorsey elected to play for the York Barbell amateur club in the National Slo Pitch Conference, a prestigious amateur competition . The

Rochester Express The Rochester Express, originally named the Rochester Zeniths, were a professional softball team that played in two professional softball leagues from 1978 through 1982 at various locations in the Rochester, New York area. Rochester Zeniths The ...

won the league title, Don Brown of Rochester was the World Series MVP and Bill Gatti of Kentucky was honored as the league MVP. A's Infielder Gary Hartman made the all-APSPL team for 1980. John Spadaccino (14 HRs, 46 RBIs) and the windmill-style delivery of pitcher Sam Sapienza had come from the disbanded

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 ...

in the off-season and both had solid seasons.

South Jersey Athletics

The APSPL combined with the NASL in 1981 to form the United Professional Softball League (UPSL) and the Athletics rebranded as the South Jersey Athletics with a move to New Jersey. It was a stellar season for the Athletics, finishing the year 35-21 (.625), winners of the Eastern Division, and earning a first-round playoff bye as a result. The Athletics stumbled against New England, who entered the playoffs with a .400 record, losing 3–2 (4-8, 12-7, 0-5, 5-3, 16-6) in the semi-finals despite strong performances by Ron Dorsey (4 HRs) and Bobby Bryant (3 HRs). Kentucky would win the league title, beating New England in the championship, Greg Whitlock of Kentucky was the World Series MVP and teammate Bill Gatti the league MVP. Ron Dorsey (.511, 34 HRs, 75 RBIs) and Bob Bryant (.464, 20 HRs, 64 RBIs) made the all-UPSL team. Mike Kolb (.456, 29 HRs, 74 RBIs), John Spadaccino (.500, 26 HRs, 64 RBIs) and Sam Sapienza (19-17 pitching) had excellent seasons for South Jersey. 1982 was another solid campaign as the Athletics finished the season 35-25 (.583), 3rd place in the highly competitive Eastern Division, 9.5 games back of the

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 ...

. South Jersey would get swept 3–0 (18-11, 16-15, 18-14) the first round by

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 ...

. Milwaukee defeated Detroit 5–1 in the World Series with Dick Laba of Milwaukee the series MVP. Dana Andry of Cleveland was the UPSL MVP. Ron Dorsey (.547, 47 HRs, 95 RBIs) was again named to the all-UPSL for the Athletics. Mike Kolb (.521, 46 HRs, 114 RBIs), Bob Bryant (.495, 27 HRs, 81 RBIs) and John Spadaccino (.481, 27 HRs, 55 RBIs) provided additional power for South Jersey in 1982. The UPSL and the Athletics folded after the conclusion of the 1982 season, ending professional play and returning players to the amateur leagues.

Athletics year-by-year record

References

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External links