The Pennsylvania Liberties were one of ten original franchises in the International Women’s Professional Softball Association, founded in 1976. The Liberties played one season at Municipal Stadium in Reading before disbanding.
The Chicago Ravens were a Bridgeview-based women’s professional fastpitch softball team that competed in the debut season of the International Women’s Professional Softball Association during the summer of 1976.
The San Diego Sandpipers were a women’s pro softball outfit in the obscure International Women’s Professional Softball Association of the 1970’s. The Sandpipers were one of ten founding franchises when the league launched in 1976. Nancy Welborn handled virtually all of the pitching and managed the team, which played at Smith Field on the campus of San Diego State University. The Sandpipers had a record of 66-54 and then disbanded after one season of action. Read more…
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 Michigan Travelers were a blink-and-you-missed them entry in the International Women’s Professional Softball Association (IWPSA) during the league’s inaugural season in the summer of 1976. The IWPSA was the brainstorm of the tennis star and women’s sports pioneer Billie Jean King, the dominant female softball pitcher of the era Joan Joyce, and the serial sports promoter Dennis Murphy. The Travelers played one season at Memorial Park in East Detroit and then quietly disbanded.
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