The 2006 National Pro Fastpitch season was the third season of professional

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

under the name

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

(NPF) for the only professional women's

fastpitch softball Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Considered the most competitive form of softball, fastpitch is the ...

league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.

Teams, cities and stadiums

Milestones and events

2004 NPF champion New York Juggernaut and the

California Sunbirds The California Sunbirds were a women's professional softball team based in Stockton, CA. They were one of the founding members of National Pro Fastpitch in 2004. The team folded shortly after the 2005 season concluded. Franchise history The Ca ...

(who played a partial schedule in 2005) were not on the 2006 schedule and ceased operations. In September 2005, NPF announced the addition of the expansion team

Philadelphia Force The Philadelphia Force was a women's professional softball team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 2006 to 2009, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league until a failed sale in September 2009 put an end to the team on hiat ...

, owned by brothers William M. and John M. Thompson. The Force named Patriots Park in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, as their home stadium. One of their first signings included 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Natasha Watley. The Force did play at ECTB Stadium at Bicentennial Park in Allentown. NPF announced that Patrick J. Linden had become their new president. An attorney, Linden has experience as counsel for the NPF owner's group.

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2006 NPF Senior Draft was held 138, 2006 via conference call.

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player and currently the general manager of the Volts for the inaugural 2025 season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Osterman pitched on the United Stat ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

was selected first by the Connecticut Brakettes. Osterman opted not to sign with the Brakettes, becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.

Notable transactions

Sarah Pauly signed her initial NPF contract, as the first player signed by the Connecticut Brakettes. In 2005 as a member of the amateur Stratford Brakettes, Pauly pitched against NPF teams.

League standings

Source NPF's 2006 schedule was 48 games for each team, including seven four-game home series and five four-game road series. On the schedule were games against national teams from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

, as well as Denso Japan, a professional team. The USA Softball Team,

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

Team and the

Michigan Ice The Michigan Ice was a pro softball team in Michigan. The team was located in Midland, and plays its home games at Currie Stadium, located in Emerson Park, Michigan. After playing partial seasons in the National Pro Fastpitch, NPF for 2006 and ...

, a hopeful for NPF membership, were also scheduled as opponents. The results counted in the NPF's team records.

NPF Championship

The 2006 NPF Championship Series was held at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

August 26 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket. The championship game was scheduled for August 27, but rain forced it to be moved to August 28.

Championship Game

Annual awards

Source:

References

External links

National Pro Fastpitch
2006 in women's softball 2006 in American women's sports Softball in the United States