1988 held at Long Beach, California.
Champion – Steele’s Silver Bullets, Grafton, Ohio
Runner Up – Kirk’s Glass/Ritch’s Salvage, Hampton, Virginia
Steele’s finally broke the USSSA jinx and won their first World Series. They didn’t waste no time this year. In the final, they scored 10 runs in the first inning and never looked back. The final score was 31-12. Steele’s pitcher Rick Weiterman, considered one of the best pure hitters of all time was the emotional leader all weekend for Steele’s. They wanted no repeat of last year’s “Waterloo” disaster. The Men of Steele’s hit 15 homers in the game. Steele’s was led by Ken Loeri (5-5 with 4 HRs and 8 RBIs) and Craig Elliott was 4-5 with 3 Homers. Weiterman continued his hot hitting, saving his best for when it counted as he was 4-5 to help his own cause. Kirk’s/Ritch’s gained the finals by upsetting powerful Howard’s/Western Steer in the loser’s bracket final. Howard’s lost their very first game of the tournament 19-15 to Apollo/Lower East Side. They went on a loser’s bracket run. Rick Scherr led the surge with an 18-20 run and 12 HRs. Howard’s scored more runs than anybody in the tournament and they were eliminated in the loser’s bracket final 10-3 by Kirk’s/Ritch’s. Kirk’s/Ritch’s Pitcher Andy Cook held Howard’s to just 8 hits and gave up no home runs. Cook was 4-4 with 5 RBIs in the game also. Sadly, this would turn out to be the very last time Howard’s/Western Steer would play in the World Series as Sponsor Richard Howard decided not to sponsor the team in 1989. It was the end of one of the greatest Slow Pitch teams in softball history.
- MVP – Rick Weiterman, Steeles’s (13-17, .765,1 RBI, 9 Runs)
- Home Run Leader – Rick Scherr, Howard’s (23-29, .793, 38 RBIs, 22 Runs) – 15
- Batting Leader – Rick Scherr, Howard’s (23-29, 15 HRs, 38 RBIs, 22 Runs) – .793
- Defensive MVP – Kelly Stanley, Kirk’s/Ritch’s
USSSA MAJOR WORLD SERIES ALL WORLD TEAM
- Pitcher – Rick Weiterman – Steele’s (13-17, .765, 1 RBI, 9 Runs)
- Pitcher – Andy Cook – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (14-24, .583, 7 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Catcher – Darrell Misenheimer – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (10-18, .556, 6 HRs, 13 RBIs)
- Catcher – Craig Elliott – Steele’s (13-18, .722, 11 HRs, 15 RBIS, 15 Runs)
- First Base – Mark Heirlmeier – Bell Corp/First Associates (15-25, .600, 9 HRs, 19 RBIs, 13 Runs)
- First Base – Bruce Rains – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (14-24, .583, 7 HRs, 14 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Second Base – Mark Cauley – Bell Corp/First Associates (12-22, .545, 6 HRs, 16 RBIs, 11 Runs)
- Second Base – Ernie Montgomery – Steele’s (10-17, .588, 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Second Base – Mark Oxford – Apollo (9-12, .750, 2 RBIs, 3 Runs)
- Third Base – Rick Scherr – Howard’s (23-29, .793, 15 HRs, 38 RBIs, 22 Runs)
- Shortstop – Steve Williams – Howard’s (15-26, .577, 5 HRs, 11 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Shortstop – JW Mitchell – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (14-23, .609, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Outfield – Curtis Williams – Howard’s (16-27, .593, 4 RBIs, 11 Runs)
- Outfield – Bill Blake – Steele’s (12-20, .600, 8 HRs, 16 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Outfield – Ken Loeri – Steele’s (10-16, .625, 9 HRs, 21 RBIs, 13 Runs)
- Outfield – Doug Roberson – Steele’s (12-20, .600, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, 9 Runs)
- Outfield – Kelly Stanley – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (11-21, .524, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Outfield – Cody Wyatt – Kirk’s/Ritch’s (15-23, .652, 4 HRs, 6 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Utility – Mike Bolen – Howard’s (17-30, .567, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs, 15 Runs)
- Manager – Dave Neale – Steele’s
OTHERS
- Tony Dedonatis, Stroh’s (6-6, 1.000, 2 RBIs, 1 Run)
- John Keigley, Oklahoma City Hunters (5-6, .833, 1 RBI, 4 Runs)
- Greg Whitlock, Starpath (7-10, .700, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 Runs)
- Rick Wheeler, Broken Drum (12-18, .667, 6 HRs, 9 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Darrell Beeler, Superior (10-15, .667, 5 HRs, 10 RBIs, 7 Runs)
- Dan Schuck, Larry’s Used Cars (8-12, .667, 6 HRs, 20 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Doug Berfeldt, Sports Heros (5-8, .625, 1 RBI, 2 Runs)
- Mike Nye, Apollo (8-13, .615, 4 RBIs, 2 Runs)
- Mike Jacobs, Bell Corp/First (8-13, .615, 1 RBI, 9 Runs)
- Dave Steffen, Apollo (9-15, .600, 6 HRs, 11 RBIS, 9 Runs)
- Greg Fuhrman, Superior (9-15, .600, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, 7 Runs)
- Wayne Pyrtle, Kirk’s/Ritch’s (12-20, .600, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Britt Hightower, Broken Drum (10-17, .588, 6 HRs, 9 RBIs, 9 Runs)
- Danny Williams, Bell Corp/First (14-24, .583, 4 HRs, 8 RBIs, 11 Runs)
- Doug Brown, AJD Caps (6-11, .545, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs, 3 Runs)
- George Marshall, Howard’s (13-24, .542, 1 HR, 9 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Bruce Bailey, John Hanson (8-15, .533, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, 5 Runs)
- Jim Fuller, Broken Drum (9-17, .529, 5 HRs, 10 RBIs, 9 Runs)
- Dan Griffin, Howard’s (13-26, .500, 4 HRs, 9 RBIs, 14 Runs)
- Mark Martin, Bell Corp/First (11-22. .500, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs, 10 Runs)
- Scott Virkus, Steele’s (10-20, .500, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs, 11 Runs)
- Fred Trice, Steele’s (9-18, .500, 5 HRs, 9 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Paul Drilling, Bell Corp/First (7-14, .500, 3 RBIs, 5 Runs)
- Mike Macenko, Steele’s (9-20, .450, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs)
- Clyde Guy, Howard’s (12-27, .444, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs, 12 Runs)
- Russell Bradley, Howard’s (11-25, .440, 4 HRs, 15 Runs)
- Ron Parnell, Steele’s (8-19, .421, 5 HRs, 10 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Greg Schulte, Bell Corp/First (10-24, .416, 8 HRs, 14 RBIs, 11 Runs)
- Dennis Graser, Starpath (4-10, .400, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 4 Runs)
- Rich Plante, Apollo (6-16, .375, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Bill Gatti, Maroadi Transfer (3-8, .375, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 3 Runs)
- Ron Ford, Maroadi Transfer (3-8, .375, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 3 Runs)
- Mike Cellura, Broken Drum (6-16, .375, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Harold Kelley, Bell Corp/First (7-19, .368, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 6 Runs)
- Chuck Maiorana, Stroh’s (2-6, .333, 2 RBIs, 1 Run)
- Don Clatterbaugh, Kirk’s/Ritch’s (6-18, .333, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, 4 Runs)
- Stan Harvey, Howard’s (9-29, .310, 4 HRs, 9 RBIs, 8 Runs)
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Steele’s Silver Bullets, Grafton, OH (5-0)
2. Kirk’s Glass/Ritch’s Salvage, Hampton, VA (4-2)
3. Howard’s/Western Steer, Denver, NC (5-2)
4. Bell Corp./First Associates, Tampa, FL (4-2)
5t. Apollo Lower East Side, West Palm Beach, FL (2-2)
5t. Superior/Spalding, Windsor Locks, CT (2-2)
7t. John Hanson/Franey & Parr, Rockville, MD (2-2)
7t. Broken Drum Insulation, Northridge, CA (2-2)
9t. AJD Caps/Russell Athletics, Richmond, VA (1-2)
9t. Larry’s Used Cars, Grand Prairie, TX (1-2)
9t. Stottler Stagg, Merritt Island, FL (1-2)
9t. Starpath, Monticello, KY (1-2)
13t. Sports Heros Athletics, Eagan, MN (0-2)
13t. Oklahoma City Hunters, Oklahoma City, OK (0-2)
13t. Maroadi Transfer, Pittsburgh, PA (0-2)
13t. Stroh’s, Detroit, MI (0-2)
