Category: 1940

1940 ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch Nationals

1940 held at Detroit, Michigan.


Champion – Arizona Ramblers, Phoenix, Arizona
Runner Up – Koch Furniture, Cleveland, Ohio


The Arizona Ramblers started in 1933 and didn’t make the Nationals in 1937 and from that National tournament up the 1939 tournament held last year, they have finished 3rd three straight years, their record was the same in all three (3-1). This year, they finally reached the summit going 5-0 to become National champs. The teams overall record from 1933-1940 is an astounding 317-38.

The Ramblers will be often known as the PBSW Ramblers, which means Peterson-Brooke-Steiner and Wist Ramblers, their backers.

Arizona Ramblers only had 3 hits, 7 errors by Koch was the big difference. Ester Holton led the hit parade with 2. Louise Curtis, Dot Wilkinson, Jessie Glasscock, Mildred Dixon, Marjorie Wood Law and Amy Peralta-May all accounted for the remainder of the scoring.

Mary Skorich, Koch Furniture pitcher had not given up a run prior to the final, won 4 straight shutouts and finished up 4-1 with 49 Ks in 36 IP. Skorich also won a couple games herself. She stole home in the opening 1-0 victory over Reading, PA in 8 innings. Then once again, after getting a hit, scored the winning run against Cincinnati to win 1-0 in bottom of the 7th.

Louise Curtis was 1-0 (2 runs given up) and Amy Peralta-May was 4-0 (3 shutouts, 3 runs given up) for the Ramblers.

The J.J. Krieg Alameda, CA Girls lost their first game in the national tournament to Detroit ending their streak of 175 consecutive victories dating back to May of 1937.

Jane Tabeling, Cincinnati Meyers (4-1, 2 shutouts), Connie Wiesnewski, Keller’s (3-1, 2 shutouts), Betty Ferlin, Montgomery Ward (3-1, 2 shutouts).

Amy Peralta-May, Arizona Ramblers went 4-0 pitching, won final 10-3 and would have won the MVP.


  • MVP –  N/A
  • HR Leader – N/A
  • Batting Leader – N/A

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS (Incomplete)

P – Amy Peralta-May, Arizona Ramblers
C – Dot Wilkinson, Arizona Ramblers
3B – Mickey Sullivan, Arizona Ramblers
OF – Marjorie “Law” Wood, Arizona Ramblers


FINAL STANDINGS

1. Arizona Ramblers, Phoenix, AZ (5-0) (Arizona)
2. Koch Furniture, Cleveland, OH (4-1) (Cleveland)
3t. Meyers Partridge, Cincinnati, OH (4-1) (Cincinnati)
3t. Montgomery Wards, St. Paul, MN (3-1) (Minnesota)
5t. Higgins Midgets, Tulsa, OK (2-1) (Oklahoma)
5t. Mansfield Merchants, Mansfield, OH (2-1) (Ohio)
5t. Keller Girls, Detroit, MI (3-1) (Detroit)
5t. Jax Beers, Houston, TX (2-1) (Texas)
9t. D.X. Oilers, Topeka, KS (1-1) (Kansas)
9t. Ben-Meadows, South Bend, IN (1-1) (Indiana)
9t. American Beverage Company, Omaha, NE (1-1) (Nebraska)
9t. Caterpillar Tractor Girls, Peoria, IL (1-1) (Illinois)
9t. Jax Brewer Maids, New Orleans, LA (1-1) (Louisiana)
9t. R.H. Hall, St. Petersburg, FL (1-1) (Florida)
9t. Kauffman Maids, Reading, PA (1-1) (Pennsylvania)
9t. Pepsi Cola Girls, Rochester, NY (1-1) (Rochester)
17t. Harry’s, Farmington, NM (1-1) * (New Mexico)
17t. Morton’s Girls, Richmond, VA (1-1) * (Virginia)
17t. Kennedy Milk, Madison, WI (0-1) (Wisconsin)
17t. Non-Partisan League, Bismarck, ND (0-1) (North Dakota)
17t. Van Der Voorts, Lansing, MI (0-1) (Michigan)
17t. Dr. Pepper’s, Little Rock, AR (0-1) (Arkansas)
17t. Hamilton Funeral Home, Des Moines, IA (0-1) (Iowa)
17t. Rival Dog Food, Chicago, IL (0-1) (Chicago)
17t. Thames Pony Express, St. Joseph, MO (0-1) (Missouri)
17t. Erie County Democrats, Buffalo, NY (0-1) (Buffalo)
17t. Kentucky Dairy Maids, Louisville, KY (0-1) (Kentucky)
17t. Ziemer Sausage, Milwaukee, WI (0-1) (Milwaukee)
17t. Silver’s 5 and 10, Birmingham, AL (0-1) (Alabama)
17t. Ken Rau, Dalton, GA (0-1) (Georgia)
28. Hood Hotel, Raleigh, NC (0-1) (North Carolina)
29. Tuberettes, Pawtucket, RI (0-1) (Rhode Island)
33t. JJ Krieg’s Haberdashers, Alameda, CA (0-1) (Defending Champ)
33t. Reeds Oil, Nashville, TN (0-1) (Tennessee)

* indicates the team won a game by forfeit.


NOTES

The tournament was single elimination. Helena Boosters, Helena, MT and Duncan Mills, Greenville, SC did not show up.

1940 ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch Nationals

1940 held at Detroit, Michigan.


Champion – Kodak Park, Rochester, New York
Runner Up – Bendix Brakes, South Bend, Indiana


In the final game, Harold Gears hurled a 3-hit shutout and only had 1 strikeout, but scored the winning run on a Joe Farrell Single in the bottom of the 6th inning. George Sutphen (no-hitter) and Bill Morris (1-hitter) won the other two games for Kodak. The Rochester contingent gave up no runs in 6 games. Farrell led the team in batting (7-19, .368 with 3 doubles, a triple, 4 runs scored and 4 RBI). Tom Castle and Charles Streb both were 6-17 (.353 with each scoring 3 runs and having 4 RBI).

Stan Corgan, of Bendix Brakes, pitched final game, losing 1-0, the game winning single was the only hit he surrendered. Corgan was 2-1 in the tournament and Stan Lipa, a pickup from the Zollner pistons was 2-0.

Rochester defeated Dates Laundry of Buffalo in Semi finals on Gears’ no hitter, while Bendix beat Toronto 3-2 in 14 innings behind Stan Lipa’s pitching. Bendix had just beaten Phillips 66 of Okmulgee, OK 2-0 in a quarterfinal game.

Cam Ecclestone, pitching for Bowles of Toronto went 4-1, including a 24 inning 1-0 defeat of the Phoenix Auto Kings, he had 36 Ks. 15 year old Len Murray pitched the entire game for the Auto Kings.

The legendary Coon Rosen went 2-0 for the Phoenix Auto Kings.


  • MVP – Harold “Shifty” Gears, Kodak Park (4-0, 3 shutouts, including a no-hitter, gave up 0 runs and only 4 hits. had 24 Ks in 26 IP)
  • Batting Leader – N/A
  • HR Leader – N/A

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Kodak Park, Rochester, NY (6-0) (Rochester)
2. Bendix Brakes, South Bend, IN (5-1) (Indiana)
3t. Bowles Lunch, Toronto, ON (4-1) (Canada-Toronto)
3t. Dates Laundry, Buffalo, NY (4-1) (Buffalo)
5t. Auto Supply Kings, Phoenix, AZ (3-1) (Arizona)
5t. Phillips 66, Okmulgee, OK (3-1) (Oklahoma)
5t. Page Dairy, Toledo, OH (3-1) (Ohio)
5t. Elgin AC, Elizabeth, NJ (3-1) (New Jersey)
9t. Big Six Van Wagoners, Pontiac, MI (2-1) (Michigan)
9t. Sioux Toolers, Sioux City, IA (1-1) (Iowa)
9t. Caterpillar Diesel, Peoria, IL (2-1) (Illinois)
9t. Kauffman Penfold, Fort Lupton, CO (1-1) (Colorado)
9t. East Hills Merchants, Cincinnati, OH (2-1) (Cincinnati)
9t. Westport Chevis Stars, Westport, CT (2-1) (Connecticut)
9t. Cranston Trojans, Cranston, RI (1-1) (Rhode Island)
9t. Marion Motors, Ocala, FL (1-1) (Florida)
17t. Briggs Beautyware, Detroit, MI (0-1) (Detroit)
17t. Weaver Walls, Cleveland, OH (0-1) (Cleveland)
17t. Regal Beer, Baton Rouge, LA (1-1) (Louisiana)
17t. McNutt Oilers, El Paso, TX (1-1) (Texas)
17t. Bradley Lumber, Warren, AR (1-1) (Arkansas)
17t. Jensen’s Alleys, Milwaukee, WI (1-1) (Milwaukee)
17t. Sinclair Oilers, Parco, WY (1-1) (Wyoming)
17t. Mountain Fuel, Salt Lake City, UT (1-1) (Utah)
17t. Romancos, Roanoke Rapids, NC (0-1) (North Carolina)
17t. Atlanta Police, Atlanta, GA (1-1) (Georgia)
17t. International Bus. Machine, Washington DC (0-1) (Washington DC)
17t. Bethlehem Steel, Baltimore, MD (1-1) (Maryland)
17t. Don ‘Q’ Rums, Ponce, Puerto Rico (0-1) (Puerto Rico)
17t. Dupont Dye, Wilmington, DE (1-1) (Delaware)
17t. Harvard AC, Portland, ME (1-1) (Maine)*
17t. Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, VA (0-1) (Virginia)
33t. Nick Carr Boosters, Covington, KY (0-1) (Defending Champ)
33t. Mound Park Tavern, St. Paul, MN (0-1) (Minnesota)
33t. Western Printers, Racine, WI (0-1) (Wisconsin)
33t. Shopping Center, Billings, MT (0-1) (Montana)
33t. Service Growers, Kansas City, KS (0-1) (Kansas)
33t. Dr. Pepper’s, Lincoln, NE (0-1) (Nebraska)
33t. Park Ridge Merchants, Chicago, IL (0-1) (Chicago)
33t. Dunn Lumber, Seattle, WA (0-1) (Washington)
33t. Ken-Mac, Louisville, KY (0-1) (Kentucky)
33t. Public Service Company, Denver, CO (0-1) (Denver)
33t. Binkley Miners, Macon, MO (0-1) (Missouri)
33t. Hollister Cowboys, Hollister, CA (0-1) (California)
33t. Kraft Cheese, Albuquerque, NM (0-1) (New Mexico)
33t. Hamilton Watch, Lancaster, PA (0-1) (Pennsylvania)
33t. St. Joan of Arc, New York City, NY (0-1) (New York)
33t. Smokey’s, Pittsfield, MA (0-1) (Massachusetts)
33t. Alpha Society, Nashua, NH (0-1) (New Hampshire)
33t. The All-Stars, Etowak, TN (0-1) (Tennessee)
33t. All Pals, Philadelphia, PA (0-1) (Philadelphia)
33t. 20th Century Club, Pittsburgh, PA (0-1) (Pittsburgh)
33t. U.S. Engineers, Huntington, WV (0-1) (West Virginia)
33t. National Gypsum, Mobile, AL (0-1) (Alabama)
33t. Flamingoes, Bellows Falls, VT (0-1) (Vermont)
33t. Gas & Electric, Columbia, SC (0-1) * (South Carolina)

* won a game by forfeit


NOTES

Troy Laundry, Twin Falls, ID, Mint Bar, Sioux Falls, SD, and Fargo Merchants, Fargo, ND withdrew.