The 1969
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...
of softball was organized by the Omaha Softball Association and recognized by the
Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS) as a championship tournament. Softball teams from nine colleges met on May 16–18 in
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
and
Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it t ...
. A tenth team from the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
encountered a travel delay en route and was forced to miss the tournament. The first day of games was rained out, causing the 16 games to be played in two days.
Connie Claussen, the chair of the physical education department at the
University of Nebraska–Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...
, was a driving force in organizing and directing that first tournament, as well as the next ten while the series was held in Omaha.
The
John F. Kennedy College Patriettes won the first college softball championship by winning all five of their games, defeating Illinois State in the final, 2–0. Patriettes pitcher Judy Lloyd was named the
Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Teams
The
double-elimination tournament
A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimin ...
included these teams:
*
Black Hills State College
Black Hills State University (BHSU) is a public university in Spearfish, South Dakota, United States. Close to 4,000 students attend classes at its campus in Spearfish, with a satellite campus in Rapid City which is shared with South Dakota S ...
(South Dakota)
* Colorado State College (''now
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education.
The institution has offi ...
'')
*
Creighton University
Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...
(Nebraska)
*
Illinois State University
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...
*
John F. Kennedy College (Nebraska)
*
Kearney State College
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska St ...
(Nebraska)
*
St. Petersburg Junior College (Florida)
*
Southwest Missouri State College
*
University of Nebraska–Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...
Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...
of
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
was also expected to compete; however, mechanical issues with their airplane forced them to forfeit.
Bracket
The bracket, which was originally planned to be a ten-team tournament, included nine teams, with results as shown.
Ranking
See also
References
{{AIAW Women's College World Series
Women's College World Series
Soft
American
Amer
Women's sports in Nebraska
20th century in Omaha, Nebraska
College sports tournaments in Nebraska