When was the first time you ever saw fastpitch?

[jdint]

I guess early to mid 70's. My hometown of 2000 people had a men's fastpitch league at the local legion field. It was really cool and I remember thinking the dude playing third base is going to get killed standing that close to home plate.

There was a team from one of the nearby towns called the Celtics and they had a 'local legend' type pitcher. People claimed he threw some ridiculous speeds, like 95 or something, and as a kid I was very impressed.

 

[jdint]

He looks hittable.

Was the opposition commonly called the Washington Generals?

 

[karnog]

Same as a few others on here ...mid 1970's. My older brother and father played in a league. I think it was '77 or '78 when they were able to play against the King and his Court ...they sure traveled all over. We were way up in northern NY (Massena)! No yellow balls back then (or raised seams).

 

[Orange Socks]

In college at Sam Houston State in 1993. My GF played for the school and I went to watch them play. Looking back I had no clue how hard she had it and how much pressure she was under to perform to keep her scholarship. They won the season ending NIT tournament. I remember saying they beat Notre Dame in that tourney.

I decided to go back and look at the record book and totally forgot there was a girl that graduated HS with me that was a stud softballer. And my best friend's sister was inducted in their "Hall of Fame" a few years ago. She was your proto typical slapper that swung a bottle bat. Eat 'em Up Kats!

 

[FP26]

Late 70's or early 80's. I was in grade school. My older sister's husband played fastpitch for a local team. We had leagues all throughout PA at that time. By the time I graduated from college, most of those leagues were gone. I joined a modified fast pitch team at that time and played 4 years. Then that started to lose popularity as well. I do not know of any fastpitch or modified softball leagues in the area anymore. Just slow pitch. Some girls I coached years ago now play for co-ed slow pitch teams.

 

[canyonjoe]

I remember one day we had a little league picnic in a little town in upstate NY. We were playing a little softball and this local cop shows up and starts pitching. It was a long time ago but you could barely see the pitch unless he threw a curve which seem to move several feet. I know the King and his court rarely lost but the legend was this guy was one of the ones who beat them. Not sure it was true, but it was amazing to watch.

 

[Strike2]

I knew it existed, but didn't see it until sometime in the 90s on ESPN. I didn't have daughters yet, and I was far more focused on MLB and the NFL to pay much attention and never watched a game from start to finish. I started playing lots of slowpitch in the early 2000s, and the coed team I was on actively recruited fastpitch players. Every one of them was good, but one thing that stood out was that few of them could control where the ball went. They swung, and the ball went the same place regardless of the situation. The guys were all veteran slowpitch players who could put the ball anywhere they wanted. Once my DDs became old enough for T-ball, my focus changed, and I'd now rather watch a FP game at any age or level than MLB or the NFL.

 

[cnardone]

I played modified for a long time. We once had a "great" slow pitch player show up to play. He was so over matched it was not even funny.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Completely guessing but Anna was 6 or 7 and going to the same Christian school she graduated from. My wife was telling me about the softball team and they were playing that night, did I want to go? Sure!

We get there, we're standing on a grassy hill on the 1B side, within minutes a rocket line drive foul ball is headed towards my wife, I reach to my right and stab it one handed and throw it back to to pitcher, the place goes crazy, funny moment! Not really cause it stung like crazy!

I remember thinking just how big those girls were, and how fast the game was, I was really impressed! Who knew that me and her would win a State Championship together on that very field just over a decade later!

 

[cncsoftball]

In the fall of 1991, I went to Northern Kentucky University's open tryouts never having seen fastpitch before that day. Somehow, I made the team, and by sophomore year, I was the starting left fielder. I had played slow-pitch my whole life because that was all that was around in our area. I did grow up next to a ballpark that had batting cages, and you could always find me in the baseball cages which probably helped. I never became a great hitter and have no doubt that I would not make the school's team in today's day and age. Fastpitch has come a long way!