The League - 1979

Pro Softball League Will Return in 1979

Reprint from The Morning Record and Journal by Ken Robinson

The International Women’s Professional Softball Association (IWPSA) will be back in 1979. The league is set to begin play for a fourth season with six teams, two more than in 1978 yet sill four teams less than when the league began operations in 1976. There are a number of “hitches” involved with keeping the league afloat, though, including a player dispersal draft aimed at equalizing talent among six franchises.

The league didn’t lose any of the teams which operated this past summer, this despite claims the San Jose Sunbirds would fold. In actuality the team did remain although its name has been changed to the San Jose Rainbow. Additionally, the team will be mainly comprised of non-active players from 1978, players who opted to strike rather than play for little or no pay.

As expected, the more stable teams, Connecticut, Buffalo and St. Louis will return apparently in decent financial shape. The two new franchises are in Edmonton, Canada and Philadelphia, PA.

The most difficult situation for the teams to work with is the draft. Each team which competed in 1978 can “freeze” its roster to any 13 players. The remaining players are up for grabs between the redesigned San Jose team and the two new franchises.

Although the league was adding two new teams, it still needed a corporate sponsor. In February 1979, the Bic Pen Corporation decided to sponsor the IWPSA, in short and simple terms, saved the league from dying. Alone, expansion would have only stalled the death of the league for a year, maybe two. But sponsorship financial backing by a major U.S. Corporation – is what supplies the lifeline.

With sponsor on board and two new teams, the league was set to go. However, the Philadelphia team did not materalize and the league had to scurry to find another team. The New York Golden Apples was that team. The New York franchise was finalized on June 8, one week before the Apple's first game.