Softball History USA

Mazzola-Castle

Mazzola of Rochester began as Pace Electronics and made its first appearance in the USSSA World Series in 1974. Led by Andy Santillo, Glenn Eichelberger and Frank Taccone, all of whom are USSSA Hall of Famers, as well as manager Joe Nucci, the team was a perennial top finisher in USSSA national tournaments and the World Series, combining great fielding with timely power hitting. As the team, matured, it began picking up additional players such as Jerry Lasponara, Mike Decillis, Pete Castle, Rick Palmiero and Bill Kreger. In 1977, they picked up Cal Carmen and merged with Castle Insurance.

Mazzola-Castle peaked at the right time that year, winning the Eastern World’s in Southgate, Michigan and defeating two time defending champion Snyder’s in the USSSA World Series in Petersburg, Virginia, Lasponara was MVP in both tournaments and they brought Rochester the community’s first softball championship. In 1978, the team moved into the Pro League, initially under the ownership of Dick Hill, where they were known as the Zeniths and played in Red Wings Stadium. Unfortunately, the ownership ceased after 1979 and although the team continued in the pro league through 1982, many of the players transitioned back to Pace Electronics in the USSSA.

Dino’s Pizza

Dino’s Pizza from Detroit was formed in 1970 by USSSA Hall of Fame Manager Gary Vitto who later managed Detroit Caesars and Detroit Softball City in the Pro League and became General Manager of Arena Football League Champion Detroit Drive. The team was led by one of the most colorful players ever to set foot on a softball field, first baseman Cal Carmen, also a member of the USSSA Hall of Fame. Joe Patti, MVP of the 1974 USSSA World Series, was the pitcher and the team included Joe Theisen, Jerry Johnston, Bill Klinger, Jim Haislip and Dan Murphy,

Dino’s was very competitive in major Detroit softball but could not defeat Little Caesars. After losing to Caesars in the 1972 ASA District at a time when only one team qualified to go the Regionals from each area, Dino’s decided to join the USSSA and promptly won the Eastern World’s in Petersburg that year, defeating Snyder’s in the Winner’s Bracket finals and Rolling Hills of Covington, Kentucky in Championship. Carmen was the star of the tournament along with Theisen.

The next year Dino’s lost to Bay Area Merchants in the USSSA World Series in Southgate, Michigan. Later that year, Dino’s finished 2nd in the Eastern World’s which qualified them for the expanded 8 team World Series the following year, where they defeated Bay Area Merchants to take the title. Competing as Uniroyal the following years, they finished 4th and 5th respectively in the USSSA World Series. The following year, Uniroyal disbanded and Gary Vitto, Dan Murphy, Tom Kaminski and George Birch joined the Detroit Caesars Pro Team where they won the 1977 and 1978 World Championships.

Big Time Softball

  • ASA
  • April 26, 2020

Until 1973, top level men’s slow pitch softball was almost exclusively made up of teams whose rosters were comprised of players within each local area. From the first ASA slow pitch champions in the mid-1950’s through the 60’s and early 70’s, teams made up of players from Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Milwaukee and Long Island sponsored by smaller retail businesses battled it out for the Labor Day title. Teams pretty much played during the week in local leagues and drove to a half dozen out of town tournaments from May to August.

In 1971, Virginia Piledrivers won the championship in Cleveland after helping all-time great Bert Smith move from Long Island where he played with County Sports to Virginia. Several other players from the Maryland-Northern Virginia area also played on that team but other than Bert, it was a regional team. In 1973, Richard Howard became the first national sponsor to bring in multiple players from out-of state, those being Bert Smith, Stan Harvey, David Carroll and HT Waller. It paid off with Howard’s winning back-to-back championships in 1973 and 1974. Jerry’s Catering out of Miami finished second in 1974 and brought in Al White but most of the team was from Florida.

The USSSA at that point also had local teams as champions with Bay Area Merchants, Dino’s and Snyder’s in 1973-75.

1975 was the year that the ASA instituted a residency rule and the competition was very even with any one of 20 teams having a great chance to win championships. It turned out that 2 totally homegrown teams, Pyramid Cafe from Cleveland and Snyder’s from Detroit won the ASA and USSSA championships respectively.

Nelson’s Paint began some national recruiting in 1975 as did Warren Motors in 1976 although both teams had a majority of players from Oklahoma and Florida in those years. Also, in 1976, Taylor Brothers recruited Rick Sherr from Milwaukee and the 1976 USSSA World Series featured Little Caesar’s picking up Bert Smith, Stan Harvey and Denny Hogan from Howard’s and Snyder’s picking up Phil Higgins from Milwaukee and Braxton Speller from North Carolina. Braxton moved full-time to Detroit to work in the auto industry where he joined Chuck Drewicz who had moved from Milwaukee to Detroit earlier that year.

It was 1977 when the wholesale movement of players and significant costs began. With the advent of the professional league, players were paid to play and Bert Smith, Ronnie Ford, Mike Nye and Jack Roudebush were brought to Detroit to play for Detroit Caesars. Nelson’s recruited extensively, bringing in Bruce Meade, Herman Rathman, Joe Young and Al White and Crusher moved to North Carolina to play for Howard’s. By 1978, Campbell’s recruited players from coast-to-coast and it became apparent that to win championships, a sponsor would have to provide significant resources to compete for a championship.

Nelson’s, Campbell’s and Howard’s won the Triple Crown 1979-81 with rosters comprised of players from around the United States. Jerry’s won the USSSA in 1982 and 1983 with a similar roster and then Steele’s, Elite, Smythe Sox and Ritch’s Superior followed suit during the remainder of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Major Men’s Softball had become an expensive proposition that required partnerships with equipment manufacturers to offset certain costs.

Pro Softball and the National Slo-Pitch Conference

From 1977 to 1982, various softball owners and sponsors attempted to create separate organizations separate from the ASA and USSSA to make the sport a profitable business and meet the needs who wanted to take it beyond recreation. Ultimately, those efforts, which involved many individuals, did not succeed but it was an interesting time for all participants.

In 1977, Bill Byrne, who worked in the World Football League which was active in 1973 and 1974, started the American Professional Slo-Pitch League, based in Columbus, Ohio. He targeted markets primarily in the North and Midwest that had strong softball traditions and facilities that could accommodate several thousand fans. These included Cleveland, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Trenton, Baltimore, Chicago and Long Island. Ownership and facilities as well as on-field talent varied significantly based on location and ownership capabilities. Each team played a 56 game schedule, with each game part of a doubleheader played on weekends from May to September.

Detroit Caesars, owned by Mike Ilitch, greatly enhanced the softball field located in East Detroit to hold crowds of 4000-6000 which occurred often. He also signed Ronnie Ford, Bert Smith and Mike Nye to go with a strong team of local Detroit players that included all-World members Mike Gouin, Tex Collins, Doug Gerdes and Tony Mazza. He also signed former Detroit Tigers Norm Cash and Jim Northrup who created fan and media excitement.

The Kentucky Bourbons, owned by ASA Hall of Famer Don Rardin, Jr., brought together most of the best players in the Kentucky area, including Bill Gatti, Phil Schroer and Don Rardin, Jr. The team also played at a significantly enhanced facility, Bishop David Field and the team received significant media attention.

Chicago was made up of primarily 16 inch players such as Benny Holt, who won the League’s Triple Crown and MVP that year, Buddy Haines, Ron Olesiak and Tom Spahn, managed by former major leaguer Milt Pappas.

The Long Island team consisted of many top players from County Sports, including Jim Galloway, Mike Foley, Larry Chiappetta and Gary Richter. Unfortunately, unstable ownership caused many of these players to leave the team during the season.

Cleveland was owned by Jay Friedman and the team, made up of Pyramid stars Bobby Reid, Steve Loya, Shelley Hoffman, Dave Jakubs, Bob Hegedus as well as Dana Andry, Roger Wilt, Rich Petrunyak and other top players was very competitive and drew good crowds to Rose Field. There were other outstanding players who did not join the team as they were playing for top Cleveland amateur teams, including Mike Macenko, Steve Blanchette and Mark Brown.

The Cincinnati Suds played at Trechter Stadium and had Rick Linz, Emery Lucas, Tom Taylor, Jim Nageleisen, Mike Applin and other solid players. Similar to Cleveland and also Pittsburgh, there were quality players on amateur teams that did not join the pro league.

The Pittsburgh Hard Hats featured Tom Miller and Jim Nelson from Joe’s Army Navy, Columbus took most of the Worthington Steel team, including Bill Swords, Tom Pappas and Goldie Rich, Columbus played its home games in the Clippers’ stadium.

The Minnesota franchise played its games in Midway Stadium and featured most of the best players from the Twin Cities, including Gene Parrish, John Locke, Joe Russell and Lou Boone. Former Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles also played for the team.

The Trenton team was made up of players from that area such as John Spadaccino and Tom Krenchicki as well as former New York Met Danny Napoleon. In its second year, the team featured former New York Yankee Joe Pepitone, who turned out to be a very good player.

Baltimore featured players from the Maryland/Northern Virginia area, including Piledrivers and All-World performer Johnny Dollar, Lawrence Hutcherson and John Copenhaver.

Milwaukee combined the top teams in that area which had been perennial powers in the Big Eight League and the USSSA, Transport Oil and Copper Hearth. Phil Higgins, Arlis Jones, Doug Czaplewski, Derek Gallagher, Jim Dillard, Kenny Parker, Paul Wenzel and a young first baseman, Dennis Graser, made up the roster. The franchise built on the popularity of softball in that community to draw large crowds to Wilson Park as well as good ratings for the locally televised games and very strong media coverage.

For the most part, the teams with the most stable ownership, Detroit, Milwaukee, Louisville, Cleveland and Cincinnati, were the best on the field and in attendance. That first year demonstrated the gap that persisted during the 6 year history of the League as well in the National Slo-Pitch Conference during its existence relative to the ability to identify and sustain a majority of  strong owners/sponsors who possessed both the vision and the resources to continue to grow their own teams on and off the field as well as strengthen the organization as a whole.

The games among the top teams were very competitive as Detroit and Kentucky vied for the League’s best record through the final weekend of the regular season. Cleveland barely edged out Cincinnati for a playoff berth where they faced and defeated the favored Milwaukee team and came very close to upsetting Detroit. Meanwhile, Baltimore, which had little competition in its division, upset Kentucky in the playoffs. Given new life, Detroit disposed of Baltimore in 4 straight games to capture the World Series. Mike Nye was MVP of the Series.

Before the season began, the League announced that the winner of the World Series would receive $50,000. However, after the completion of the Series, it was discovered that the League had significant financial expenses, including the financing of the Columbus franchise, and was unable to provide that prize money.

The League was reorganized in 1978. Bill Byrne and his team parted ways with the owners and Don Rardin, Sr. was named League President with the office relocating to Detroit. Rardin sold the Bourbons to Larry Gatti and sold his interest in the Cleveland Jaybirds to Ted Stepien. The Long Island, Columbus and Baltimore franchises disbanded and were replaced by the defending USSSA Champions from Rochester, the Zeniths, owned by Dick Hill, who played their games in Red Wings Stadium, the New England Pilgrims and the Philadelphia A’s, who played their games in Veteran’s Stadium.

The Minneapolis franchise was sold to Richard Doran, who built a strong franchise with a talented roster and strong marketing.  Schlitz became involved with the Milwaukee franchise that year as well. Unfortunately, ownership in Cincinnati and Chicago ceased in the middle of that season, forcing the League to carry those franchises until the end of the year.

The schedule was expanded to 64 games. Detroit and Minnesota were the best two teams in the League that year and each won 4 of the 8 games played head-to-head. They reached the World Series with Detroit disposing of Cleveland and Minnesota defeating Cincinnati in the playoffs. Detroit dominated the World Series, beating Minnesota in 4 straight games with Bert Smith, World Series MVP going 16 for 17, the only out being a base hit that was disallowed when Bert was called for stepping on the plate. Ronnie Ford was the regular season MVP, leading the League in home runs and RBI and barely losing the batting title to Mike Nye the last game of the season.

Another reorganization took place that off season when Ted Stepien, who had purchased full control of the Cleveland franchise and renamed it the Competitors, became League President and moved the League office to Cleveland. The Chicago franchise was disbanded and replaced by Ft. Wayne. Larry Luebbers became the owner of the Cincinnati franchise and the team played their games at a reconstructed Crosley Field in Luebbers’ backyard in Florence, Kentucky.

The League also instituted several rule changes, including moving the base paths to 70 feet from 65, moving the pitcher’s mound to 49 feet and several of the fields lengthened their dimensions to 315-330 feet from 300 feet. That season, Milwaukee, led by first year pitcher Rick Weiterman and Manager Mike Basile, got off to a strong start and held the best record in the League all year, followed closely by Kentucky. Detroit got off to a slow start, much of it due to injuries and though it made a late run, was never able to catch the Schlitz. Ronnie Ford, despite missing over 20 of the 64 games with injuries, led the League in home runs and RBI. Weiterman won the batting title and was named MVP. In the playoffs, Milwaukee defeated Cleveland and Detroit and Kentucky defeated Pittsburgh and Rochester to reach the World Series.

Earlier that summer, the League signed a contract with a new 24 hour sports cable network, ESPN, to televise the World Series which turned out to be ESPN’s first live telecast. This should have been a major step forward for big-time softball but unfortunately, it was a missed opportunity that was never recaptured. Milwaukee wound up winning the Series over Kentucky, 5 games to 3 and Weiterman was the World Series MVP as well.

Following the season, the Minnesota and Trenton franchises disbanded, Dick Hill ceased ownership of the Rochester franchise and Mike Ilitch, who had owned the flagship franchise, Detroit Caesars, announced that he was no longer participating in professional softball. These occurrences led to the formation of a second league, the NASL, by Ted Stepien, who owned the Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Lexington, Chicago and Pittsburgh franchises. The other two teams came from the APSPL, defending champion Milwaukee and Fort Wayne. Pittsburgh, Louisville, Rochester, Philadelphia, New England and Cincinnati remained in the original league. Due to the defections and divisions, ESPN withdrew from their contract, the last time that big-time softball would have the opportunity to receive regular national television coverage.

in the 1980 season, Milwaukee wound up winning their 2nd consecutive championship, beating Detroit after defeating a very good Chicago team in the playoffs, many of whose players joined Lilly Air the following year, including Ron Olesiak, who was League MVP.  Kenny Parker was the World Series MVP. Rochester defeated Pittsburgh to win the APSPL.

The NASL folded after the season with Cleveland moving to the National Slo-Pitch Conference in 1981 as Nationwide Advertising and Snyder’s absorbing several of the Detroit pro players on their NSPC team. Milwaukee rejoined the established pro league, now called the USPSL. Kentucky, led by Bill Gatti, won the World Series, defeating New England. The Cincinnati franchise acquired many of the players who had played for Greater Cincinnati Sports in the USSSA and NSPC and with its games at St. Bernard Field, had local television coverage for several games during the MLB strike that summer.

In 1982, Cleveland returned to the Pro League with several of its Nationwide stars, including Mike Macenko, Steve Blanchette, Marty Rolnick, Dana Andry, Doc Booker, Rich Petrunyak and Jim Bizzell. Dave Neale also added Paul Wright and brought back Bobby Reid. Cleveland and Kentucky were the best regular season teams but by the playoffs, Petrunyak and Wright were injured. Detroit, which was comprised of much of the Snyder’s NSPC team, including Braxton Speller, Chuck Drewicz, Rick Trudeau, Doug Gerdes and Gary Geister, added power-hitting Charlie Mitchell. Milwaukee got off to a slow start and lost shortstop Paul Wenzel at mid-year.

Both Detroit and Milwaukee peaked at the right time. Detroit defeated Philadelphia and Cleveland in the playoffs, all on the road. Milwaukee defeated Cincinnati and Kentucky, In the World Series, Milwaukee defeated Detroit, a team they had lost to 11 of 16 times in the regular season, 5 games to 1 to capture their third championship in 4 years, led by Higgins, Graser and Weiterman.

During the off-season, Ted Stepien, who owned both the Cleveland and Detroit franchises, was focused on issues involving his Cleveland Cavaliers and announced that both teams were being disbanded. With other issues that arose, professional softball ended and was not revived.

There were opportunities for success with owners like Ilitch, Stepien, Gatti and Doran as well as the ESPN coverage. However, it was imperative for teams to play in facilities such as minor league or college baseball type facilities that were markedly better than the recreation fields where most softball was played. These facilities were required for projecting a professional image as well as providing a backdrop for televising games. Unfortunately, most of the owners did not have the resources or the inclination to do so. They also were unable to obtain the best softball players, in many cases, even in their own cities, where lack of credibility caused many to stay with their amateur teams. Also, the League was unable to obtain national sponsorships from beer, equipment and other companies that would have enticed established softball sponsors with strong resources such as Richard Howard, Ken Sanders, Jerry Pendergast, Campbell Strange and R.T. Nelson to become professional owners.

The other effort to develop a second organization began in 1978 as an effort to counteract Professional Softball and maintain the traditional tournament format. The National Slo-Pitch Conference was formed by Jim Snyder, R.T. Nelson and Richard Howard. The first year, there were nine teams, including Howard’s, Nelson’s, Ken Sanders, Campbell’s, Dave Carroll, Taylor Brothers, Capitol Insulation and Poindexter Lumber. R.T. Nelson ran the Conference Office with Jerome Earnest. Four tournaments were held and Campbell’s won 2, Howard’s and Dave Carroll each won one. Campbell’s, which had spent the off-season recruiting players from around the country, went on to win the ASA over Howard’s and was regarded as the best team in the country that year.

In 1979, Dave Carroll ran the Conference Office out of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, again with Jerome. There were 22 members of the Conference participating in a full slate of 13 tournaments held throughout the country from April to July with the championship held in August in Birmingham, Alabama. The teams were located in all regions and it gave teams that had previously played a mostly local schedule to compete against the best teams prior to the Labor Day Championships. Dudley and Dave Carroll Sports were the primary national sponsors and each local tournament obtained local sponsorship as well as ticket sales.

Campbell’s picked up where they left off the previous season and won the regular season NSPC title. Nelson’s, made up of players from CC Brick and other top teams, took the Championship on its way to the 1979 Triple Crown. The Conference office once again moved in the off-season, this time to Seymour, Indiana. The 1980 Conference had 19 members and 15 tournaments. In addition to Nelson’s leaving softball after the Triple Crown victory, other sponsors who were not as competitive determined that the costs of travel and player expenses were not sustainable.

Jerry’s Catering won the Conference regular season title in 1980 and was featured in Sports Illustrated. However, just as in the previous year, another team on its way to the Triple Crown, Campbell’s, with 5 members of the 1979 Nelson’s team, won the Championship and proceeded to capture the ASA and USSSA Championships. Once again, citing the high cost of operating a national team, the second consecutive Triple Crown winner, citing the high costs associated with operating a national softball team, disbanded following the season.

In 1981, due in part to the mergers of Ken Sanders and York Barbell and Teamsters and Hillcrest along with the Cleveland professional team to form Nationwide Advertising and the disbanding of Detroit Softball City and GB Wilcher, the NSPC functioned with 8 teams. Miller Brewing Company and its local distributors sponsored most of the 14 Conference Tournaments that year along with Dudley Sports. Worth was involved with Ken Sanders-York Barbell, Easton with Howard’s and Steele’s with its team and Nationwide.

Howard’s, with the addition of Dick Bartel, Richard Willborn, Buddy Slater and Bill Ferguson, led from start to finish with Nationwide Advertising beating out Ken Sanders-York, Jerry’s and Snyder’s as the 2nd best team for most of the year. In the Championship at Willoughby, Ohio, Howard’s defeated Nationwide twice to win the title. However, it took a Bartel catch against the fence to rob Doc Booker of a game winning three run homer in the bottom of the 7th of the first game. Howard’s went on to win the Triple Crown but unlike the two previous winners, came back to defend its championships in 1982.

The Conference office was moved to Denver, North Carolina and the structure was changed to allow more teams to participate in the Conference on a limited regional basis while the top 3 teams, Jerry’s, Howard’s and Sanders-York, played a more full national schedule. In the Championship,held in Knoxville at the World’s Fair and sponsored by Miller, Ken Sanders won his first Big 3 championship as York-Sanders won the last NSPC Championship. Jerry’s wound up winning the ASA and USSSA Championships that year.

Following the season, the NSPC as well as the pro league folded permanently. There was one NSPC invitational tournament in 1983 but all of the remaining teams and players from both organizations were absorbed by the ASA and USSSA. The NSPC had some similar sustainable challenges to  the pro league with respect to the wide disparity between sponsors in terms of resources and ability to procure players. Additionally, even the most affluent sponsors focused on winning championships and recruiting players as opposed to building a strong league/conference. As a result, as businessmen, they eventually saw the amounts they were expending with no emphasis or ability to obtain return on investment.

Also, the teams that did have individual sponsorship affiliations were not inclined to sacrifice those for competing national affiliations that might have made the organization stronger. Big time softball, if it had been properly organized with all of the right people, may have had an opportunity to be successful, particularly with the amount of sports that has been televised since the 1980’s. It was a missed opportunity. As the sponsors went back to the ASA and USSSA, the same pattern ensued with teams winning and disbanding a short time later. Steele’s and Howard’s were the exceptions who sustained their teams for almost another decade.

In the end, both organizations brought together a lot of good owners/sponsors and players and created great memories for the participants and fans.

Howard’s Furniture

Of the many people responsible for the growth and success of men’s slow pitch softball throughout the United States, none had a greater impact or love of the game as Richard Howard, a truly amazing individual in every respect. The former Marine who never left his roots in Denver, North Carolina, Mr. Howard was a true Horatio Alger, building a successful business empire through hard work, loyalty and integrity. As he was building his family and his businesses consisting of furniture, retail food establishments as well as distribution, real estate, bowling establishments, insurance, auto racing and other enterprises, he became interested in slow pitch through his church team in the 1950’s.

As time went on, his team improved and began developing a winning reputation in North Carolina. The players were all from the North Carolina area and among some of the original team members were Don Arndt and Gene Fisher, both destined to become all-time greats. Their first ASA National Tournament was in 1969 and they lost their first two games. Eventually, they picked up players from other North Carolina teams and continued to improve, finishing 4th in the ASA Nationals in Jacksonville in 1972 where Don Arndt was named MVP.

In 1973, Mr. Howard determined to win a title and he did so by recruiting Bert Smith, the MVP of the 1968 and 1991 ASA Nationals with County Sports and Virginia Piledrivers from Virginia Beach, Stan Harvey and David Carroll from Tennessee and H.T. Waller from Florida. He also prevailed upon his neighbor, Tony Cloninger, who had recently retired from Major League Baseball after a very successful 15 year career to come in to play 3rd base. This combination of players,together with Denny Hogan, Randy Ewing, Tommy Maiden and Steve Howard, won their first championship, beating County Sports twice in the Finals. Bert Smith was again MVP.

Howard’s repeated that championship in 1974 in York, Pa., defeating Jerry’s Catering in the Finals. 1975-77 was an unusual period with no championships but the team returned to form in 1978, winning the USSSA World Series in Petersburg, Va. over arch-rival Dave Carroll Sports after barely losing out to Campbell’s in the ASA Championship. Denny Hogan was MVP and among the contributors that year was Rick Sherr who joined Howard’s in 1977.

In 1981, Howard’s put together its best team and one of if not the best team ever assembled with a combination of defense, hitting, baserunning, depth and the ability to adapt to all conditions. In addition to stalwarts Arndt, Harvey, Sherr, Tom Beall and Howard, Dick Bartel, Richard Willborn, Buddy Slater and Bill Ferguson came aboard. Additionally, Mike Cellura played for Howard’s in the NSPC and was all-tournament there. This team won everything from the Hejaz Classic in Spartanburg to the Smoky Mountain to the NSPC regular season. For Ferguson, Slater and Willborn, it was their third straight Triple Crown. Randy Gorrell and Bob Lutz, Jr. guided the team from the bench and in the Triple Crown Tournaments, Howard’s lost a total of 1 game.

Although favored to win in 1982, they came up short but rebounded in 1983 with another ASA Super Division crown. Until 1989, when he retired from softball, Richard Howard was one of the most respected individuals in the history of the sport. He treated everyone with respect and kindness and did everything he could to better the sport. It is a real tribute that most of the players he brought to his team stayed in North Carolina throughout their careers and raised their families close to the Howards. Among two examples are Stan Harvey, who moved from Tennessee in 1973, stayed the rest of his life with his family, including son Bryan, who became one of the best closers in the Major Leagues. Similarly, Rich Sherr, whose son grew up in Denver, NC and is one of the top performers in the WWE. Of course, Bob Lutz, Jr. one of the top coaches in college basketball, learned much from his father and uncle and growing up around and coaching Howard’s Furniture.

An amazing legacy of an amazing individual who built a championship team on the field he constructed in his back yard.

Campbell’s

Although men’s slow pitch softball was growing in California in the 1970’s, Campbell Strange took it to a whole new level. In 1973, Bay Area Merchants with a roster made up of players from Northern California won the Men’s USSSA World Series, beating favorite Dino’s Pizza of Detroit, 4-2 in Southgate, Michigan. The next year, Bay Area Merchants finished 2nd to Dino’s in Pinole, California out of an expanded field of 8 teams.

In 1975, a team from Southern California that would make a strong mark in Men’s Softball for more than a decade emerged, Capitol Insulation, sponsored by Don Webster and Bob Edmiston. Their first few years, they were made up exclusively of Southern California players and they made the USSSA World Series almost every year.

Campbell Strange, a native of Ireland, became interested in men’s softball in the mid-70’s through several of his employees in his successful carpet business. Soon, he took over sponsorship of Bay Area Merchants, called Campbell’s-BAM and entered numerous national tournaments. Although the team had a good showing in the 1977 ASA Championship, that experience caused Campbell’s competitiveness to seek out players from coast-to coast in order to capture a national title. During that off-season, he went to Tennessee to recruit Ron Masterson and Eddie Corum, North Carolina to get Russell Bradley, Louisiana by way of North Carolina to obtain Denny Jones, Oklahoma for Al White and Gordon Wheeler and closer to home, Southern California for Mike Cellura.

He also retained several of the Campbell’s-BAM team, including Charlie Pierce, at that time the best player to come out of Northern California. He molded that group into a true team through the efforts of manager Tom Crellin and coach Ed Mennosse and pretty much dominated the 1978 season, winning two of the initial four NSPC tournaments as well as other national titles, traveling across the country, before defeating Howard’s to win the ASA Championship in Elk Grove, California.

In addition to developing a championship team, Campbell did a great deal to promote softball in California and around the United States. He was very instrumental in making the 1978 ASA Championship and the 1980 USSSA Championship, both in Northern California, extremely successful events from a fan and publicity standpoint.

In 1979, Campbell continued his recruiting, getting Jerry King, Greg Fuhrman and Dick Bartel and went into the season as a prohibitive favorite. However, Nelson’s wound up with the Triple Crown that year. Unfortunately for softball but fortunately for Campbell, Bob Nelson retired from softball following that season. Campbell then obtained Richard Willborn, Mickey McCarty, Buddy Slater and Bill Ferguson from Nelson’s and also recruited Elby Bushong and Dennis Meyers from Capitol. That team, managed by Randy Gorrell, recovered after a relatively slow start and won the Triple Crown over Jerry’s Catering, the favorite going into 1980.

Campbell determined after that achievement to follow Bob Nelson into retirement from softball. During the relatively brief time that sponsored a team, he made a huge impact, both in on-field success and popularizing slow pitch throughout the country and in California in particular.

Robert Brown

Robert Brown became involved while in high school with men’s softball in 1971, joining Mertz Bake Shop from Oak Park, Michigan in the Detroit area as statistician-coach. At that time, Detroit was a hotbed for softball with defending ASA Champion Little Caesar’s, Snyder’s, Dino’s Pizza, Daly’s Drive-In and other teams that appeared in national tournaments on a regular basis. The following year, 1972,  Mertz was a charter member of the Detroit Major Metro Travel League and finished 4th in the USSSA Eastern World in Petersburg, Va. Robert later joined Stroh’s, Bert’s Blackhorse which finished 2nd to County Sports in the 1975 Stroh’s Invitational in Springfield, Ohio and Uniroyal which finished 5th in the 1976 USSSA World Series in Wyandotte, Michigan.

In 1977, after graduating University of Michigan where he was a student manager for the football and hockey teams, Robert joined Detroit Caesars of the American Professional Slo-Pitch League and became Assistant General Manager as well as administrator for the League Office in 1978. In 1979, Robert became Vice President of Marketing for the League and was responsible for procuring a contract with ESPN which televised the Pro World Series between Milwaukee and Kentucky as their first live network event.

Robert became Commissioner of the professional North American Softball League in 1980 and Executive Director of the National Slo-Pitch Conference in 1981. In 1982, he became General Manager of the Detroit Softball City Pro Team which lost to Milwaukee in the World Series. That turned out to be the last year of pro softball and the NSPC and Robert became Michigan USSSA Director 1982-83. He left softball to become General Manager of the Detroit Express Professional Soccer Team and attend law school. Robert was inducted into the Michigan USSSA Hall of Fame in 1990.

Warren Motors

Men’s slow pitch softball in Northern Florida had been growing in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Jo’s Pizza, featuring H.T. Waller, finished second to Milwaukee Copper Hearth in the 1969 ASA Championship. Other teams were very competitive as well although most did not go to some of the big tournaments like the Stroh’s or Ohio Valley Classic during the regular season and if they didn’t win their Regional tournaments, they did not get as much national exposure. It was Harold Warren in Jacksonville who brought Florida its first Men’s Slow Pitch National Championship when his Warren Motors team won the ASA in 1976 in their hometown of Jacksonville, finishing the year with a 94-2 record.

He assembled players who came for the most part from the North Florida, including some of the best to ever play the game. Bruce Meade, Mike Nye and Ronnie Ford were the biggest stars along with Ray Fleetwood and Lonnie Turner and were managed by a top softball man, Darrell Leake. Mike Nye hit .769 that year and he and Ronnie were the co-MVPs of the ASA Championship Tournament.

The next year, despite losing Meade to Nelson’s, Fleetwood to Howard’s and Ford and Nye to Detroit Caesars (Nye started that year with Nelson’s), Warren still finished in the top 10 at the ASA Championship. Unfortunately, as other sponsors continued to recruit their players, Warren Motors was disbanded. However, that team will always have a prominent place in softball history.

Ken Sanders Ford

Ken Sanders, a highly successful automobile dealer, began sponsoring and managing a top national team in the mid-1970’s featuring such stars as Craig Elliott, Charles Wright, Roger Mayo, David Beaird, Paul Wright, James Abercrombie, Sidney Cooper and Greg Smith, among others. In 1977, the team lost a heart-breaking ASA Championship Game Finals when they left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th inning in a one-run game. Ken continued to field one of the top teams in the country in the NSPC and ASA.  Ken continued to add great players including Curtis Williams, Ronnie Ford and Mike Nye when Detroit Caesars folded and in 1981, merged with York Barbells where he acquired Bill Pollock.

In 1982, Ken won the NSPC Championship which gave him his first national title. He retired from softball after that season and turned his attention to boxing where he was the first manager of one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all-time, Evander Holyfield. Ken’s legacy in softball is won of being committed to the sport for many years, fielding great teams, being a fiery competitor and along with Jim Snyder, Bob Nelson and Dave Neale, one of the few people who was successfully able to manage and sponsor a top team.

Nelson’s Painting Services

R.T. Nelson built a highly successful company, Nelson’s Painting Services, in Oklahoma City, where the company fulfilled government painting contracts. His son, Mike, encouraged him to get involved in men’s slow pitch softball and in 1974, he sponsored a successful team that won over 80 games. The next year, he began recruiting players from around the country who often worked for his company, including Mike Nye from Northern Florida. Nelson’s had another successful season at 98-13, this time expanding their schedule to various national tournaments but they failed to make it to the ASA Nationals.

Mr. Nelson resumed his quest for a championship in 1977 when he brought Bruce Meade, Herman Rathman, Al White, Joe Young, Henry Koper and Bill Howes to join his son, Terry Perryman, Dean Brunken, Homer Salazar and other Oklahoma based stars. Mike Nye was also a member of that team early on but he left in the middle of May to join Detroit Caesars of the Pro League who he eventually helped lead to 2 championships.

The 1977 team finished at 111-18 and won the ASA Championship, coming out of the losers’ bracket to defeat Ken Sanders twice in 2 one-run games that came down to the final at-bat. Meade, Rathman, White and Koper made the All-World Team with Meade named as co-MVP with Craig Elliott. Young also played a huge role in that title.

The 1978 team, still featuring Meade, Rathman and Perryman, got to the ASA Nationals where they lost to Howard’s. In 1979, Nelson’s once again conducted a national recruiting effort, landing Richard Willborn, Bill Ferguson, Buddy Slater and Mickey McCarty from CC Brick in San Antonio to go along with Myles Schexnadre, Danny Basso, Chic Downing and the return of Joe Young. This nucleus enabled Nelson’s to capture the NSPC and USSSA Championships. Because of ASA residency rules, many of the Nelson’s players were unable to play in the ASA Nationals . However, Nelson’s fielded a team, Nelco, led by Meade, Young, Perryman, Earl Chambers, Dean Brunken and Ed Berg went undefeated, beating favorite Campbell’s Carpets in the championship game.

Nelson’s became the first of three consecutive Triple Crown winners. Unfortunately, after accomplishing this great achievement, Bob Nelson disbanded his team and retired from softball.