The Lexington Stallions were a 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) ...

team who played at Southland Park in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

in the North American Softball League (NASL) during the 1980 season.

Team history

Kentucky was represented by the

Kentucky Bourbons 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. The Bourbons, Cincinnati Suds and Pittsburgh Hardhats were th ...

, who played in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

in the first professional league, the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL), beginning with the founding of that league in 1977. But 1980 was a year of division in professional softball as the

Cleveland Stepien's Competitors The Cleveland Jaybirds (1977–78), later named the Cleveland Stepien's Competitors (1979–80) and finally the Cleveland Competitors (1982), were a professional softball team that played in three men's professional softball leagues, professional s ...

, the 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 Theodore John Stepien (June 9, 1925 – September 10, 2007) was an American businessman who owned the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1983. Born in Pittsburgh in 1925, he became wealthy as the foun ...

. The Bourbons continued in the reduced numbers of the APSPL. Stepien placed NASL teams in several APSPL markets, including

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, also placing a team, the Lexington Stallions, in nearby

. Stepien owned many of the NASL teams, including the Stallions. 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. Donnie Rardin, a former Bourbon who was now changing teams for the 4th time in the 4 years of professional softball, was brought on by Stepien and would play for and serve as General Manager for Lexington, former Bourbon Dave Bair managed the team, and ex-Bourbons Phil Schroer and Phil Gowdy joined them on the Stallions. The Stallions had an unremarkable run in 1980, finishing the season with a 30-32 (.486) record, good for 3rd place in the NASL Western Division, 18 games the

Milwaukee Schlitz The Milwaukee Schlitz were a professional softball team that played in three men's professional softball leagues from 1977 through 1982 at Wilson Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Milwaukee began play in the inaugural 1977 American Profes ...

. Milwaukee would go on to win the 1980 NASL World Series 5–2 over the

Detroit Auto Kings The Detroit Auto Kings were a professional softball team that played in the North American Softball League (NASL) in the 1980 season at Memorial Field in East Detroit, Michigan. League history Detroit was represented by the Detroit Caesars, w ...

with Ken Parker (.586 BA) of Milwaukee honored as Series MVP. Ron Olesiak (.555, 34 HRs, 124 RBIs) of

Chicago Nationwide Advertising Chicago Nationwide Advertising were a professional softball team that played in the North American Softball League (NASL) during the 1980 season. They played their home games at The team played at Lou Boudreau Field in Harvey, Illinois. League ...

was the NASL league MVP. Donnie Rardin (.548, 20 doubles, 14 triples) was the lone Stallion to make the all-NASL squad for 1980. Former Bourbons Rardin, Phil Schroer, and Phil Gowdy represented Lexington at the mid-season all-star game in

Willoughby, Ohio Willoughby is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States, along the Chagrin River. The population was 23,959 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropol ...

. The Stallions also featured former Bourbon Terry Davis, Jim Dunn, who had been signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in 1970, Bendal Bagby, and Thom Deskins, who had played minor league baseball in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. After the season, the NASL and the APSPL officially merged, but only the Milwaukee Schlitz would go to the new United Professional Softball League (UPSL) and the Stallions disbanded. The UPSL folded after the 1982 season, bringing an end to the professional softball era for men in the United States.

Lexington Stallions record

References

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External links

Softball History Data Softball History USA National Softball Hall of Fame
Softball teams in Kentucky Sports clubs and teams established in 1980 Men's professional softball teams Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1980