1997 Women's Pro Fastpitch season
1997 WPF Season | |
---|---|
Orlando Wahoos |
The 1997 Women's Pro Fastpitch season was the first season of women's professional softball for
Teams, cities and stadiums
Team | City | Stadium |
---|---|---|
Carolina Diamonds | Charlotte, North Carolina | Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium at D.L. Phillips Softball Complex[2][3] |
Durham Dragons | Durham, North Carolina | Durham Athletic Park[4] |
Georgia Pride | Lithonia, Georgia | Southeast Athletic Complex[3] |
Orlando Wahoos
|
Winter Park, Florida | Alfond Stadium at Rollins College[5] |
Tampa Bay FireStix | Tampa, Florida | Red McEwen Field [6] |
Virginia Roadsters | Hampton, Virginia | War Memorial Stadium[7]
|
Milestones and Events
Launching the WPF
The WPF was the second attempt at an American professional women's fastpitch softball league. The previous league, the
In January 1989, former
In June 1993, the NFA held an exhibition series of two teams of former collegiate fastpitch players around the country. After evaluating the success of the exhibitions, the NFA focused research on possible markets, investors and sponsors. NFA's moved their offices to Minneapolis/St. Paul where Jay Cowles, Jane's brother, become CEO.
On January 19, 1994, Jay Cowles officially announced the formation of the National Fastpitch Association. Plans to begin league play in 1996 with an exhibition tour scheduled for the summer of 1995 was announced.
Making the game's national debut on August 11, 1994, the Decatur Pride and the California Commotion faced off at Borg Warner Stadium in Decatur, Illinois, later broadcast by ESPN2. By late fall of 1994, planning for an exhibition Tour was underway, and NFA changed its name to Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). In February 1995, Mitzi Swentzell, former Executive Vice President of the Denver Nuggets, assumed the position of President and CEO.[8]
From June 15 to July 13, the 1995 WPF Tour featured two All-Star teams, called the Blaze and the Storm,[9] that played in 16 cities and eight states.
WPF held its first draft at its Minneapolis offices on October 31, 1995. Swentzell announced that the league would play its first season in the summer of 1997. WPF offices moved to Denver, and another draft, consisting of 1997 college seniors, was held March 20.
After more than eight years of planning, the WPF played its first games May 30, 1997. Opening games were played in Durham and Orlando. The Virginia Roadsters claimed the first win in league history, defeating the Durham Dragons 2-1 in a broadcast on
Teams played a 72-game schedule, with the winners of each half meeting in a championship series. Each team had a salary cap of $74,000 for their 15-player rosters.
Player Acquisition
College Draft
NewsOK.com reported that, in anticipation of the launch of the WPF, a draft was held in October, 1995. Among those drafted included
A 1997 draft of college seniors was held March 20.[8]
League standings
Source:[12]
Team | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando Wahoos
|
70 | 57 | 12 | 1 | .826 | - |
Virginia Roadsters | 70 | 33 | 37 | 0 | .471 | 24.5 |
Tampa Bay Firestix | 70 | 31 | 39 | 0 | .443 | 26.5 |
Durham Dragons | 70 | 30 | 39 | 1 | .435 | 27 |
Carolina Diamonds | 70 | 29 | 41 | 0 | .414 | 28.5 |
Georgia Pride | 70 | 29 | 41 | 0 | .414 | 28.5 |
WPF Championship
The 1997 WPF Championship Series was a best-of-five series between the
1997 WPF Championship Orlando Wahoos defeat Virginia Roadsters 3–1
| |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Game | Score | Series (ORL-VIR) | |||||
1 | Orlando Wahoos 3, Virginia Roadsters 1 |
1–0 | |||||
2 | Orlando Wahoos 3, Virginia Roadsters 4 |
1–1 | |||||
3 | Orlando Wahoos 10, Virginia Roadsters 3 |
2-1 | |||||
4 | Orlando Wahoos 11, Virginia Roadsters 1 |
3-1 |
1997 WPF Championship Series MVP | ||
---|---|---|
Player | Club | |
Debbie Doom | Orlando Wahoos
|
Annual awards
Award | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player | Sarah Dawson | Orlando Wahoos
|
Pitcher of the Year | Sarah Dawson | Orlando Wahoos
|
Hitter of the Year | Liz Mizera | Orlando Wahoos
|
Defensive Player of the Year | Rashunda Taylor | Orlando Wahoos
|
Home Run Champions | Sue Lewis-Newton | Orlando Wahoos
|
Liz Mizera | Orlando Wahoos
| |
Trisha Reinhardt | Durham Dragons | |
Coach of the Year | Lu Harris
|
Orlando Wahoos
|
References
- ^ "Reebok is Named Footwear Sponsor of Women's Professional Fastpitch League". PR News. 15 May 1997. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Roadsters' Scoring Woes Continue". Daily Press. 26 June 1997. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Firestone Stadium". DigitalBallparks.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Durham Dragon News". DurhamDragons.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ Shannon Rose (7 November 1998). "Orlando Wahoos Disband". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Scott Massey (22 June 2000). "FireStix look for second league title". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "At War Memorial, It's Time To Play Ball Again". 1 June 1997. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "WPSL History". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Historical Timeline". AkronRacers.org. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Barry Jacobs (10 June 1997). "Softball's New Cachet Spawns a League of Pros". New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "5 State Softballers Picked in Draft". The Oklahoman. 1 November 1995. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b "WPSL Archive Information". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2002. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Fastpitch Softnall History". Angelfire.com. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2016.