The Fort Wayne Scouts softball team was a One-Year Wonder in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (1977-1980). The club took its name from the Scout off-road vehicle, an early SUV that was manufactured by Fort Wayne’s International Harvest Company. The Scouts posted the worst record (8-56) in the four-year history of the APSPL during their only season of play in 1979.
The Cincinnati Suds softball team played in various locales in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky from 1977 until 1982. Slo-Pitch softball had 15 minutes of fame as a pro sport in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s when a group of enthusiasts and speculators attempted to establish a marketplace for men’s softball as a nationwide professional sport. Of the several dozen teams formed during Slo-Pitch softball’s brief pro moment, the Cincinnati Suds were one of only two clubs (along with the Kentucky Bourbons) who played for all six seasons from 1977 to 1982.
Obscure men’s professional Slo-Pitch franchise that operated for four seasons out of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1979, the New England Pilgrims earned a few wire service mentions around the country for signing 39-year old former Detroit Tigers All-Star infielder Dick McAuliffe. Read more…
Milwaukee Copper Hearth was a powerhouse amateur softball club in the Big Eight League in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the 1960’s and into the mid 1970’s. The club took its name from its sponsor, a blue-collar tavern and wedding hall on North Teutonia Avenue, owned by John Korinek Sr. His son, John Jr., played for the team and later managed the club. After the 1977 season, Schlitz Brewing took over sponsorship of the team. The team became the “Milwaukee Schlitz” prior to the 1978 American Professional Slo-Pitch League season.
Dick Hill owned Western New York’s top television dealership in the 1970’s, selling and servicing the dominant brands of the day – Zenith and RCA. In 1977, Hill dove into the world of professional sports, acquiring a minor league basketball franchise in the new All-American Basketball Alliance. A few months later, Hill also purchased a expansion franchise in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League, a men’s pro league entering its second season in the summer of 1978. He named both of the basketball and softball clubs after the brand that fueled his dealership’s success – the Rochester Zeniths. Read more…
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