The girls of summer Softball leagues once flourished

LIMA — It went by plenty of names — kitten ball, diamond ball, playground ball — but the game was the same.

Ladies softball came to Lima in 1926, with a league starting here in 1929. Women of all ages simply signed up if interested in the sport and headed out to parks and playgrounds around Lima to play ball.

Usually sponsored by businesses, the teams were called by the name of the shop, not necessarily a team mascot's nickname. It didn't matter that they didn't have names — or uniforms, or even an association to make rules — the papers and Lima residents were excited about the startup nonetheless.

“Scoring in every inning, the Odins defeated El Verso 21 to 12 in a women's kitten ball game Wednesday evening at Broadway field,” according to a newspaper story from June 24, 1926.

Just a day later, this account:

“With Hogan holding the opposition to one hit, the Odins defeated the Shells, 2 to 0, Thursday evening at Murphy Street park. The winners secured but four hits off Goodrich. ... Hogan struck out 13. Goodrich whiffed 12 men. The Odin and El Verso women's kitten ball teams will play the second of their five-game series Friday evening at Broadway field.”

Later that same month:

“El Verso girls had little difficulty in defeating the Odin girls team, 29 to 14, in a kitten ball game Friday evening at Broadway field. Stelzer and Quenby formed the winners' battery. Dodge and Dean caught for the losers.”

The newspaper stories were at first quite short, but the coverage was there. The women's results often were explained in a few paragraphs here and there, seen at first as a kind of novelty. In summer of 1928, two women's teams from Toledo visited Lima to play a championship game on neutral turf.

“That these two teams can play kitten ball and battle with the umpire just the same as men is attested to by Manager Bernie Halloran who returned from Toledo Tuesday after having seen the clubs in action,” the papers reported.

Interest grew, enough that the city recreation director announced a kitten ball league would begin in 1929. The managers, all men, met before the season and worked out schedules and teams. Girls of all ages — there is one mother-daughter combo known of today — were invited to drop off their names, and they'd be invited to try out.

In 1929, teams included Boston Store, Gregg's, Shawnee Boosters, City Street Department, Arrow Furniture, Old National City Bank, Page Organ Co., Wright's Markets, Kiwanis, B'Nai B'rith and more. The season usually began in early July and went into September.

The stacked headlines from July 9, 1929, announced the opening of league play: “Girls engage in first tilt of league ball / M'Crory team cuts capers around Woolworth for 30 to 6 victory / Six four-ply wallops / Crowd of 500 witnesses inauguration of diamond game in Lima.”

McCrory's batters did well.

“O mercy, what a pippin! Mary Dumm has just slammed one of Vera Spees offerings and sent it sizzling over the shortstopper's head, it rolled out of reach of the fielders and she went for a round trip. Once again Mary took her stance at the plate and duplicated the feat. Another homer. And her pretty teammates huddled about her lavished her with ‘honey you certainly can hit ‘em,' and ‘that was the prettiest drive of the game' before hailing her as the girl Babe Ruth of Lima. It was the inauguration of the game of diamond ball for local lassies. There were about 500 men women and children on hand at No. 6 diamond in City Park to see two teams representing McCrory's and Woolworth's cut their capers on the diamond.

“Girls on both teams were very enthusiastic over the game Tuesday and between aches from overstrained mucles found considerable time to discuss freely their plans of attack to the carried out in future battles.”

The papers reported 1,500 fans for the three opening games. Teams scrambled together, and the rec director allowed the late entries. It grew to 10 teams.

“Admission of the four new teams will afford Lima fans an opportunity of seeing a girls game every night of the week excepting Saturday and Sunday,” a story reported July 14, 1929.

The games offered high excitement. A July 17, 1929, story reports a triple play. The next day's paper lauds player Lucy Sonderman.

“Four home runs in one game! That is the record established by Lucy Sonderman, star little backstop of the Ewing Plumbers girls' league diamond ball team in its initial game Wednesday night at City Park diamond. The Plumber girls won 44 to 5 over the Calvary girls. Never has there been so much hitting in a diamond ball game in Lima as was shown by the Ewing girls. One by one, they strolled to the plate and smacked the offering of the opposing pitchers for an avalanche of safe drives which included five other homeruns in addition to the quartet gathered by Lucy Sonderman.”

The leading Boston Store and second-place McCrory met in August.

“The chain store lassies are one of the fastest fielding outfits in the league and some flashy baseball is expected to be played,” Aug. 22, 1929. “Both teams have played bang-up ball thruout the season and have improved their game with each contest played.”

It wasn't as flashy as expected, though. McCrory ran up the score in the first inning, and Boston couldn't rally.

At the end of the season, managers arranged for a three-game series to find the city champions. It was between McCrory and Boston Store — and 4,000 people attended. Boston won in two games. The second game saw Boston delivering 10 strikeouts.

After the season, Boston Store invited a team from Toledo to come down for a game (and lost). An all-Mercer County team from Celina also came over for a challenge, but the results are unknown.

The first official season of league play was a hit — and 1930 saw 125 players on 10 teams spread over two leagues ready to play ball.

In 1934, the Softball Association of America was formed. That meant rules, and the Lima managers were faced with choices. The association allowed for two diamond measurements: either a 45-foot baseline or 60-foot baseline. The smaller required a 14-inch circumference ball, and the larger required a 12-inch ball. The association also specified pitching.

“A legally delivered ball by the pitcher must be with a full arm swing, the ball being released while the hand is below the hip and not more than six inches ahead of the body. A snap release of the ball at the hip, and swinging it across in front of the body, will be considered illegal,” a Jan. 22, 1934, story reported.

That same year, a new ball diamond at city park was dedicated. A full day of ball was scheduled — three softball games and one baseball game. Berg Camera was to face Middletown in a doubleheader on those new diamonds at the Collett Street entrance to the park. (Middletown won.)

“Four games will be played at the same time Sunday, three of them softball. A team of Lima girls, probably the Berg Camera lassies, will meet a strong girl's team from Middletown. The hardball contest will feature two Lima clubs, both to be selected this week. The new athletic field has three softball diamonds and has one field equipped for hardball,” an Aug. 12, 1934, story reported.

Softball was definitely on the upswing in Lima. Would it continue to flourish during World War II and beyond? See next Wednesday's Reminisce.