“I went through the system and came up with a lot of kids. Tony La Russa was the manager at Knoxville in 1978. We had Harold Baines and Dick Dotson and Britt Burns and I was kind of the Crash Davis person.”
National Lacrosse League (1974-1975) Born: 1974 – NLL founding franchise Folded: February 1976 First Game: May 16, 1974 (W 17-14 vs. Philadelphia Wings) Last Game:
The Southern California Gems were a San Bernardino-based women’s professional softball club that lasted for one season in the International Women’s Professional Softball Association in 1976. The core of the Gems roster was drawn from “The Queen and Her Maids”, a barnstorming four-woman team of softballers. The Queen was Rosie Black, an incomparable 23-year old pitcher who became a pro at age 13. Black boasted an arsenal of 16 different pitches, plus various novelty routines, such as pitching blindfolded, between her legs or from the second base bag. By the time the Gems started up in 1976, Rosie Black claimed a career record of 1,323 wins against 53 losses, with 89 perfect games.
The Boston Bolts lacrosse team played box (indoor) lacrosse for one steamy season at the non-air conditioned Boston Garden in the summer of 1975. The Bolts were members of the short-lived National Lacrosse League (1974-1975). The franchise started out as the Toronto Tomahawks in 1974. The club fared poorly at Maple Leaf Gardens and relocated to Boston prior to the NLL’s second and final season.
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