Five tournaments were originally scheduled, but the one in Triangle, NC was cancelled. Teams scheduled to play in Triangle were Howard’s/Western Steer, Howard and Carroll, Poindexter Lumber, Ken Sander’s Ford, and Taylor Brothers. NSPC Tournament number 3 was originally scheduled for Rochester, NY, but was relocated to Detroit, MI.
Info on the 4 tournaments played in 1978 are as follows: Campbell’s Carpets of Concord, CA won 2 out of 4 at-large berth tournaments and were widely recognized as the 1978 NSPC champions. No runner-up or MVP was named. Howard & Carroll of Sherrills Ford, NC and Howard’s Furniture of Denver, NC each won a tournament also.
The NSPC tournaments also included some local teams in the individual tournaments.
Campbell’s Carpets of Concord, CA won 2 out of 4 at-large berth tournaments to claim rights to the “Unofficial” National Championship. No runner-up or MVP was named. Howard & Carroll of Sherrills Ford, NC and Howard’s Furniture of Denver, NC each won a tournament also.
OFFICERS
- Commissioner – Tony Cloniger
- Executive Director – Dave Carroll
- President – Jim Snyder
- Vice President – RT Nelson
- Secretary – Gary Wilcher
- Treasure – Richard Nelson
CHARTER MEMBERS
- Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK
- Poindexter Lumber, Winston-Salem, NC
- Campbell’s Carpets, Concord, CA
- Capitol Insulation, N. Hollywood, CA
- Snyder’s Softball Club, Detroit, MI
- Howard & Carroll, Sherrill’s Ford, NC
- Howard’s Furniture, Denver, NC
- Taylor Brothers Jewelry, Corpus Christi, TX
- Ken Sander’s Ford, Phoenix City, AZ
- Pepsico-County Sports, Levittown, NY (Dropped out)
- Jerry’s Caterers, Miami, FL (Dropped out)
- Mazzola-Castle, Rochester, NY (Dropped out, team joined Pro League-APSPL – Rochester Zeniths)
SCORING SYSTEM
12 points for 1st, 8 points for 2nd, 6 points for 3rd, 4 points for 4th. Standings based on total qualifiers entered divided by total points. Ties broken by most tournament championships or highest finishes.
REGULAR SEASON MVP WINNERS
- Mike Cellura, Campbell’s
- Denny Jones, Campbell’s
ODPA AWARD WINNERS
- Ricky Page, Campbell’s Carpets
- Gene Jones, Howard & Carroll
- Marty Monterosso, Greater Cincinnati Sports
- Don Furnald, Capitol Insulation
| 1978 | Total | Total | Avg. | # 1st’s | # 2nd’s | # 3rd’s | # 4th’s | Total | Total | |
| Regular Season standings | Events | Points | Event | Score | (12 Pts) | (8 Pts) | (6 Pts) | (4 Pts) | Record | RF-RA |
| 1. Campbell’s Carpets, Concord, CA | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0.083 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 – 2 | 285 – 152 |
| 2. Howard & Carroll, Sherrill’s Ford, NC | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0.083 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 – 0 | 122 – 78 |
| 3. Howard’s Furniture, Denver, NC | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0.125 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 – 3 | 170 – 134 |
| 4. Taylor Brothers Jewelry, Corpus Christi, TX | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0.143 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 – 4 | 125 – 175 |
| 5. Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 0.167 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 – 8 | 405 .-333 |
| 6. Capitol Insulation, N. Hollywood, CA | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0.250 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 – 4 | 129 – 121 |
| 7. Poindexter Lumber, Winston-Salem, NC | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 – 4 | 70 – 118 |
| 8. *Greater Cincinnati Sports, Cincinnati, OH | 1 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.125 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 – 2 | 99 – 95 |
| 9. *Dubose Insurance, Pensacola, FL | 1 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.167 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 – 2 | 43 – 68 |
| 10. Snyder’s Softball Club, Detroit, MI | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 – 6 | 130 – 161 |
| 10. Ken Sander’s Ford, Phoenix City, AZ | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 – 2 | 61 – 66 |
* Non-Conference Member
TOURNAMENT 1 HELD ON JUNE 10-11 AT TRIANGLE, NORTH CAROLINA
Cancelled and never made up, the NSPC decided to go with just the 4 remaining events. Howard’s, Poindexter, Howard & Carroll, Ken Sanders and Taylor Bros. were entered
TOURNAMENT 2 HELD ON JULY 15-16 AT ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
1. Campbell’s Carpets, Concord, CA (5-1)
2. Taylor Brothers Jewelry, Corpus Christi, TX (2-2)
3. Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK (2-2)
4. Poindexter Lumber, Winston-Salem, NC (2-2)
5t. Capitol Insulation, North Hollywood, CA (1-2)
5t. Snyder’s Softball Club, Detroit, MI (1-2)
7. Dodge City West, St. Louis, MO (0-2)
AWARDS
- MVP – Mike Cellura, Campbell’s (13 HR, 3 HR and 8 RBI in the Championship Game)
- HR Leaders – Mike Cellura, Campbell’s – 13
- HR Leaders – Denny Jones, Campbell’s – 13
- Batting Leader – Denny Jones, Campbell’s (25-33, 13 HR, 27 RBI) – .758
- ODPA – Ricky Page, Campbell’s Carpets
NOTES
Campbell’s Carpets came out of the loser’s bracket to beat Taylor’s twice 16-13 and 30-13. Mike Cellura hit 3 HRs and had 8 RBIs in the championship. The fences were 300 feet and there was a 20 foot high sign-board fence 10 feet behind the 300 foot fences. Cellura and Jones both hit balls over that.
SCORES
Campbell 21 Dodge City 16
Snyders 16 Poindexter 1
Capitol 16 Nelson 15
Taylor 19 Capitol 18
Campbell 30 Snyder 19
Taylor 23 Campbell 15
Poindexter 27 Dodge City 15 eliminated
Nelson 26 Snyders 25 eliminated
Poindexter 14 Capitol 10 eliminated
Nelson 26 Poindexter 6 eliminated
Campbell 21 Nelson 12 eliminated
Campbell 16 Taylor 13
Campbell 30 Taylor 13 eliminated
TOURNAMENT 3 HELD ON JULY 22-23 AT MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
1. Howard & Carroll, Sherrill’s Ford, NC (4-0)
2. Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK (3-2)
3. Dubose Insurance, Pensacola, FL (1-2)
4. Howard’s Furniture, Denver, NC (2-2)
5t. Ken Sander’s Ford, Phoenix City, AL (1-2)
5t. Barbeque Kitchens, Atlanta, GA (1-2)
7. Carolina A’s, Shelby, NC (0-2)
Taylor Brothers Jewelry, Corpus Christi, TX (had to withdraw)
AWARDS
- MVP – No MVP Awarded (just HR and Batting leaders)
- HR Leader – Tom Beall, Howard & Carroll – 10
- Batting Leader – Bruce Meade, Nelson’s (21-25, 9 HR) – .840
- ODPA – Gene Jones, Howard & Carroll
NOTES
H&C beat Nelson’s in the Championship 38-30. Don Clatterbaugh was 6-6 with 4 HR. Micky Morrison had 3 HR and 7 RBI. Tom Beall won the HR trophy with 10 dingers, edging out Bruce Meade, Joel Todd and James Abercrombie, all of Nelsons who had 9. Bruce Meade’s 21-25 (.840) won the batting title over Luther Ates of Dubois. Ates turned in a 15-18 performance (.833). Gene Jones of H&C had a great tournament as he went 20-25 (.800). Other HR totals for the weekend include: James Boyette and Clatterbaugh of H&C 7, Harold Kelley of Nelsons 7. Steve Williams of Dubose 5, Roger Brown of Carolina A’s 4. For Howard’s, it was Don Arndt, Rick Scherr, HT Waller and Bill Howes all with 6.
SCORES
Howard’s 34 Nelson’s 23
H&C 39 BBQ Kitchen 15
Ken Sanders 23 Carolina A’s 9
Dubose 25 Howard’s 20
H&C 24 Ken Sanders 19
H&C 21 Dubose 14
BBQ Kitchen Carolina A’s 13-12 eliminated
Nelson’s Ken Sanders 33-19 eliminated
Howard’s BBQ Kitchen 25-5
Nelson’s Howard’s 32-19 eliminated
Nelson’s Dubose 27-4 eliminated
H&C – Nelson’s 38-30
TOURNAMENT 4 HELD ON JULY 29-30 AT DETROIT, MICHIGAN
1. Campbell’s Carpets, Concord, CA (4-1)
2. Greater Cincinnati Sports, Cincinnati, OH (4-2)
3. Taylor Brothers Jewelry, Corpus Christi, TX (2-2)
4. Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK (2-2)
5t. Softball City, Detroit, MI (1-2)
5t. Snyder’s Softball Club, Detroit, MI (0-2)
7. Lonnie’s, Detroit, MI (0-2)
AWARDS
- MVP – Denny Jones, Campbell’s – (9 HR, 33 RBI, including the winning RBI in the 21-20 championship)
- HR Leader – Mike Cellura, Campbell’s – 10
- Batting Leader – Bruce Meade, Nelson’s (13-14) – .929
- ODPA – Marty Monterosso, Greater Cincinnati Sports
NOTES
Campbell’s Carpets went 4-0 on the weekend, including a 21-20 victory over Greater Cincinnati Sports in the final game behind Mike Cellura’s 2 HR. Greater Cincinnati Sports was the surprise team of the tournament. Tom Riccardi hit 9 HRs for them on the weekend. Cellura (10) and Denny Jones (9) led Campbell’s. Gordon Wheeler chipped in with 8. Campbell’s had a couple of offensive explosions during the weekend. They defeated Softball City by a 51-2 score. Cellura (4), Jones (3) and John Tercheria (3) led that onslaught. They beat Taylor Brothers 47-9. Jones and Wheeler hit 4 each, while Randy Barlich had 3.
SCORES
Campbells 22 Lonnie’s 10
Softball City 19 Nelsons 16
Taylor Brothers 7 Greater Cincinnati Sports 6
Campbells 51 Softball City 2
Taylor Brothers 20 Snyders 16
Campbells 47 Taylor Brothers 9
Nelson 19 Lonnie’s 12 eliminated
Greater Cincinnati Sports 10 Softball City 6 eliminated
Nelson 30 Snyders 19 eliminated
Greater Cincinnati Sports 20 Nelson 10 eliminated
Greater Cincinnati Sports 22 Taylor 21 eliminated
Greater Cincinnati Sports 12 Campbells 11
Campbells 21 Greater Cincinnati Sports 20 eliminated
TOURNAMENT 5 HELD ON AUGUST 5-6 AT LAKEWOOD, OHIO
1. Howard’s Furniture, Denver, NC (4-1)
2. Capitol Insulation, N. Hollywood, CA (3-2)
3. Nelson’s Painting, Oklahoma City, OK (2-2)
4. Poindexter Lumber, Winston-Salem, NC (0-2)
5. Snyder’s Softball Club, Detroit, MI (0-2)
AWARDS
- MVP – No MVP Awarded (just HR and Batting leaders)
- HR Leader – Charlie Mitchell, Nelson’s – 8
- Batting Leader – Lonnie Parker, Snyder’s (9-11) – .818
- ODPA – Don Furnald, Capitol Insulation
NOTES
Stan Harvey led Howards’s to the championship of the last NSPC tournament of the year as he blasted 4 HRs to lead the onslaught over Capitol Insulation 26-9. Howard’s hit 12 in the game. Don Arndt, Rick Scherr and HT Waller all had 2 each. Charlie Mitchell won the HR title with 8. He hit 4 in one game. In that same game, James Abercrombie also hit 4 for Nelson’s, while Joel Todd hit 3. Stan Harvey was close behind Mitchell with 7 homers total.
SCORES
Howard’s 11 – Snyder’s 8
Capitol 18 – Nelson’s 15
Howard’s 21 – Poindexter 10
Howard’s 10 – Capitol 6
Nelson’s 36 – Snyder’s 20
Nelson’s 31 – Poindexter 12
Capitol 36 – Nelson’s 15
Capitol 16 – Howard’s 7
Howard’s 26 – Capitol 9
