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For the beverage, see Kentucky bourbon.

The Kentucky Bourbons were a professional softball team that played in two men's professional softball leagues between 1977 and 1982 at Bishop David Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] The Bourbons, Cincinnati Suds and Pittsburgh Hardhats were the only three teams to play all 6 seasons of professional softball.[2]


Bourbons in the APSPL

The American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was formed by former World Football League executive Bill Byrne, who would go on to form the Women's Professional Basketball League.[3][4] Former New York Yankees player Whitey Ford was brought on to serve as league commissioner.[5][6] The Bourbons were owned by Don Rardin, Sr., who started the team in 1977, but then sold the club the following year to Larry Gatti, who owned several McDonald's franchises in the Louisville, Kentucky area.[7][8] Both men had sons who would be all-pro players for the Bourbons.[9][10]

In the 1977 APSPL season the Bourbons won the Central Division finishing eight games ahead of the Cleveland Jaybirds. The Bourbons' 40-16 (.714) record was the 2nd best in the APSPL behind only the 42-14 (.750) tally of the Midwest Division champion and eventual World Series champions Detroit Caesars.[11] Kentucky lost in the playoff semifinals 2-1 to the East Division champion Baltimore Monuments, led by semi-finals playoff MVP Johnny Dollar. Phil Schroer (15-5 pitching), Bill Gatti (.539, 48 HRs, 127 RBIs) and Don Rardin (.536, 4 HRs, 51 RBIs, 81 runs scored) of the Bourbons made the all-league team. Cobbie Harrison (.437, 17 HRs, 60 RBIs) and Nick Nikitas (.480, 78 runs scored) had solid seasons in support.[12]

In 1978 the Bourbons finished with 30 wins and 34 losses (.469), ten games behind the Central Division champion Cincinnati Suds and failed to make the playoffs. Bill Gatti (.584, 54 HRs, 132 RBIs, 131 runs scored) and Fred Miller (.549, 57 HRs, 141 RBIs) represented the Bourbons on the 1978 All-APSPL team. Fred Miller (.549, 57 HRs, 141 RBIs) and Phil Schrorer (.507, 3 HRs, 58 RBIs, 27-26 pitching) added to the 1978 cause.[13]

The 1979 squad finished with a league best regular season record of 48-15 (.762) and defeated the Trenton Champales 3-0 in the first-round and the Rochester Zeniths 3-1 in the semi-finals. to advance to the APSPL World Series.[14] Games were featured on the new start-up sports network ESPN with the Bourbons losing the series 5-2 to the Milwaukee Schlitz with league and World Series MVP Rick Weiterman.[15]

ESPN Broadcast, 1979 APSPL World Series, Game 8, Milwaukee at Kentucky

Phil Schroer (40-8 pitching, 3.84 ERA), Don Rardin (.486, 22 HRs, 87 RBIs), returned from a year with the Cincinnati Suds, [16][17] and Bill Gatti (.533, 20 HRs, 79 RBIs) made the all-APSPL team in 1979. Rardin, Gatti, Cobbie Harrison, Chuck Winders, and Phil Schroer of Kentucky all represented Kentucky in the mid-season all-star game. Winders (.409, 6 HRs, 60 RBIs) and Nick Nikitas .493, 95 runs scored) had productive campaigns in 1979.[18]

1980 was a year of division in professional softball as the Cleveland Stepien's Competitors, Fort Wayne Huggie Bears and Milwaukee broke away from the APSPL to form a new league (North American Softball League) in 1980, under the leadership of Cleveland owner Ted Stepien.[19] The Bourbons continued in the reduced numbers of the APSPL.[20] Stepien placed NASL teams in several APSPL markets, including Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, also placing a team, the Lexington Stallions, in nearby Lexington, Kentucky.[21][22][23] Stepien owned many of the NASL teams, including the Stallions.[24] The owner of the Pittsburgh Hardhats of the APSPL brought a challenge in federal court in an attempt to prevent splitting the young professional sport.[25][26][22][23] Donnie Rardin of the Bourbons was brought on by Stepien and would play for and serve as General Manager for Lexington, former Bourbon Dave Bair would play and manage the team, and ex-Bourbon pitcher Phil Schroer joined them on the Stallions.[27] [28]

Meanwhile, in 1980, the Bourbons were the APSPL regular season best with a record of 49-13 (.790) but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Hardhats 3-2.[29] Steve Stewart (40-14 pitching record), Nick Nikitas (.464, 82 runs scored), former Detroit Caesar Jack Roudebush (.464, 3 HRs, 48 RBIs), Bill Gatti (.483, 21 HRs, 81 RBIs) and Greg Whitlock (.435, 2 HRs, 42 RBIs) won all-league honors in 1980; Gatti led the league in home-runs (21) and RBIs (81).[30]

File:Gatti, 1977, Bourbons.jpg
Bill Gatti, Kentucky Bourbons

The UPSL era

The NASL lasted just one season, and the APSPL combined with the NASL for 1980, although the only team from the NASL to come to the new United Professional Softball League (UPSL) was Milwaukee as other NASL franchises, including Lexington, disbanded.[31] The Bourbons edged into the 1981 USPL playoff with a 36-24 (.600) and a third-place Western Division finish, beat the Schlitz 3-0 in the first round and the Cincinnati Suds 3-2 in the semi-finals, including a nail-biting 6-5 victory in the deciding 5th game. Kentucky would go on to win the first UPSL World Series defeating the New England Pilgrims 5-3.[32] Bourbon Greg Whitlock (.581, 5 RBIs, 3 2Bs, 14 runs scored) was the MVP of the 1981 World Series and Bill Gatti was the league MVP, winning the triple crown of home runs (38), RBIs (99) and batting average (.622). Steve Stewart (35-20 pitching), Greg Whitlock (.474, 2 HRs, 37 RBIs) and Dave Whitlock (.443, 19 HRs, 65 RBIs) made the all-UPSL squad with Bourbon player-manager Cobbie Harrison.[33] Rick Wilson, former basketball standout at the University of Louisville, had played with the Atlanta Hawks for two seasons. He would begin playing for the Bourbons in 1981 when his NBA career ended, earning regular playing time as an outfielder, and contributed in the World Series win over New England.[34][35][36][37]

File:1981 Kentucky Bourbons.jpg
1981 Kentucky Bourbons

In 1982 the Bourbons won the Western Division with a 38-23 (.623) record, earning a first-round bye, but lost in the playoff semifinals to the Milwaukee Schlitz, 3-2, with a 23-22 loss in the 5th game with Milwaukee scoring in the final inning.[9] The Schlitz advanced and beat Detroit Softball City 5-2 to win the 1982 UPSL title. Bill Gatti (.554, 46 HRs), Greg Whitlock (.535) and Ken Parker (36 HRs, 107 RBIs ) represented Kentucky on the all-league team.[38][39] Steve Stewart went 35-20 pitching for the Bourbons and Pat Paulson had a strong year hitting .503 with 91 runs scored. Rick Wilson had left the Bourbons early in the 1981 season.[40] The UPSL folded after the conclusion of the 1982 season, ending professional play and returning players to the amateur leagues. The demise of the Bourbons coincided with the arrival of minor-league AAA baseball in Louisville with the Louisville Redbirds who would go on to set records for minor league baseball attendance in 1982.[41]

Bourbon third-baseman Bill Gatti is a member of the American Softball Association Hall of Fame, inducted in 2000, and is also honored in the United States Slowpitch Softball Association (USSSA) Hall of Fame.[42][43][44]

Kentucky Bourbons year-by-year record

Year Record Pct Finish Division Playoffs League
1977 40-16 .714 1st Central Semi-Finals APSPL
1978 30-34 .469 3rd Central - APSPL
1979 48-15 .762 1st Central World Series (runner-up) APSPL
1980 48-16 .750 1st - Semi-Finals APSPL
1981 36-24 .600 3rd Western Champions UPSL
1982 38-23 .623 1st Western Semi-Finals UPSL

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ludington Daily News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. ^ "1977-1982 Cincinnati Suds • Fun While It Lasted". March 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Clipped From Valley News". May 25, 1977. p. 42 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Clipped From The Journal Times". April 3, 1977. p. 47 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Clipped From Lansing State Journal". July 21, 1977. p. 42 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". September 3, 1978. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 15, 1977. p. 42 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 20, 1978. p. 27 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Kentucky Bourbons – Softball History USA". www.softballhistoryusa.com.
  10. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 14, 1978. p. 10 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Detroit Caesars". Detroit Caesars.
  12. ^ "ASPSL – Softball History USA". www.softballhistoryusa.com.
  13. ^ "Softball History USA – This site is dedicated to collecting the history of the great sport of softball". www.softballhistoryusa.com.
  14. ^ "The Bourbons, the Schlitz and the missing tapes -- the story of ESPN's first broadcast". ESPN.com. September 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Aulbach, Lucas. "40 years ago, a Kentucky softball team won the first live game ever broadcast on ESPN". The Courier-Journal.
  16. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". July 3, 1979. p. 29 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". July 3, 1979. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Professional Slow Pitch Softball History". www.angelfire.com.
  19. ^ "Clipped From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". April 24, 1980. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Clipped From Democrat and Chronicle". March 24, 1980. p. 35 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 10, 1980. p. 21 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b "Clipped From Detroit Free Press". March 8, 1980. p. 33 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ a b "Clipped From Detroit Free Press". March 8, 1980. p. 37 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Clipped From The Pittsburgh Press". May 8, 1980. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Clipped From The Pittsburgh Press". March 9, 1980. p. 84 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Clipped From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". June 19, 1980. p. 61 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". January 10, 1980. p. 37 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Clipped From Lexington Leader". June 20, 1980. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Reynolds, Scott. "Kentucky Bourbons players reunite to commemorate special moment in ESPN history". WDRB.
  30. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". June 23, 1980. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 16, 1981. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". September 13, 1981. p. 48 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "1977-1982 Kentucky Bourbons • Fun While It Lasted". January 4, 2013.
  34. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". September 13, 1981. p. 18 – via newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". May 17, 1982. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Clipped From Lexington Leader". September 14, 1981. p. 13 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". July 5, 1981. p. 35 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". August 9, 1981. p. 33 – via newspapers.com.
  39. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". August 9, 1981. p. 46 – via newspapers.com.
  40. ^ "Clipped From The Courier-Journal". June 1, 1982. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
  41. ^ Bozich, Rick (August 1, 1982). "FAN SUPPORT IN LOUISVILLE HARDLY MINOR (Published 1982)" – via NYTimes.com.
  42. ^ "USSSA Hall of Fame and Museum". hof.usssa.com.
  43. ^ D'Orso, Mike. ""It's Around Here Someplace"". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com.
  44. ^ https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/National-Softball-Hall-of-Fame/Members
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