1979 Rainbow

COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

Reprint (in part) from The San Jose Rainbow Official 1979 Program

Diane Kalliam’s teams have always been known for their hustle and never-say-die determination, but the qualities that have made them so formidable on the field were put to the test off the field last year in a dispute with the San Jose Sunbird management.

Owner John Bruno was unable to provide Sunbird players with salaries, a qualified trainer, adequate accident or health insurance, or any guarantee that he had the operating capital to fund his team through the 1978 season. Adding insult to injury, Bruno informed the players that fielding a quality team was not his highest priority. When discussions with Bruno failed to produce noticeable results, 12 of the 15 players on the team voted to strike rather than compromise their principals.

All Stars like Brenda Gamblin, Kalliam and Bonnie Johnson could easily have signed with other teams in the league, but they chose to sit out the season on the chance that an angel would materialize to sponsor the team. “We could have split up and gone to different teams,” says Rayona Sharpnack, the Sunbird shortstop/relief pitcher who was a leader of the player strike, “but we wanted to stay together. We knew that we were the reason people were coming out of the park. They weren’t coming out to watch the management. We believed in what we were selling. We just needed to find someone to fund it.”

That someone turned out to be Melenie Dickinson, a friend of Sharpnack’s who discovered how contagious Rainbow fever can be. Her only condition for investing was that the rebel-rousing relief pitcher act as general manager.

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