Detroit Caesars
Encyclopedia
History
Prior to formalized professional play, Detroit was a hotbed for softball, with some of the best players in the country playing in the most competitive amateur leagues to be found in the US. A major sponsor of softball in the Detroit area was Little Caesar's Pizza, a company founded and owned by Mike IlitchMike Ilitch
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an American entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise...
, a former Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
farmhand and current owner of the MLB team. The Caesars were his first step into professional sports ownership.
The Caesars played at Memorial Field in Eastpointe, Michigan
Eastpointe, Michigan
Eastpointe is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 34,077. Eastpointe forms a part of the Metro Detroit area. It borders on 8 Mile Road on the northern edge of Detroit.- History :The community was first settled by Irish and German...
, (named East Detroit at that time) a small suburb of Detroit that had recently played host to a national softball tournament. With clever promotions tied in with the pizza chain and the signing of two former Detroit Tiger stars, Jim Northrup and Norm Cash
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
, fans packed into the small stands by the thousands to witness not only Detroit's best softball players, but those that Illitch had brought to town to make his team into the powerhouse of professional softball. Mike Nye, Ronnie Ford, Bert Smith, Tex Collins and many other softball legends took to the field for Detroit, led by manager Gary Vitto, earning the team two World Series titles.
1977 and 1978 champions
In 1977, Detroit dominated the league with a record of 42-14, two games ahead of the Kentucky BourbonsKentucky Bourbons
Kentucky Bourbons were a team that played in professional softball leagues in the late 1970s and early 1980s.In 1977 the Bourbons won the American Professional Slow Pitch League Central Division, finishing eight games ahead of the Cleveland Jaybirds...
' 40-16 mark. The Caesars eventually advanced to the World Series of Softball, where they beat the Baltimore Monuments four games to none to take the first-ever pro softball title. Six Caesars made the all-league team (Mike Gouin, Ron Ford, Mike Nye, Bert Smith, Tony Mazza, and Doug Gerdes), and Mike Nye took the World Series MVP trophy. Only a triple-crown performance by Chicago Storm catcher Benny Holt could overshadow the individual performances by various Caesars.
Detroit rolled again in 1978 with a record of 49-15, and a 4-0 blanking of the Minnesota Norseman in the World Series. Ron Ford was edged out in the last game of the season by teammate Mike Nye to prevent his taking of triple-crown honors, but still took home league MVP. Seven Detroit players were all-league (Ron Ford, Mike Nye, Doug Gerdes, Gary Geister, Mike Gouin, Jack Roudebush, and newcomer Chuck Drewicz).
Later seasons and the Auto Kings
1979 was the last year for the team. With a few key reserves leaving the squad, and the off-season death of Tex Collins, the Caesars backed up enough to get caught by the rival Milwaukee Schlitz, led by APSPL star Phil Higgins and league MVP Rick Weiterman, who would go on to take the title. Still, the Caesars finished 40-24, second in their division, losing to the Schlitz in the league semi-finals. Rule and ball changes had drastically reduced the offensive production in the 1979 APSPL season. On Detroit, Ford's home run total dropped from 80 in 1978 to 43 in 1979 in the same number of games and still led the league as batting averages and power production dipped league-wide. Four Caesars took all-league honors (Ron Ford, Mike Nye, Doug Gerdes, and Rick Trudeau).Instability in other markets and internal political fighting saw two teams leave the league to form the North American Softball League (NASL) in 1980, while the APSPL continued with just 6 teams (down from 12 in each of the previous 3 seasons). Illitch elected not to continue the Detroit Caesars in either league. A team called the Detroit Auto Kings
Detroit Auto Kings
The Detroit Auto Kings were a professional softball team that played during the 1980 season in the North American Softball League , one of three professional softball leagues active in the pro softball era...
was formed, played at Memorial Field with several Caesar stars, along with former Detroit Tiger Mickey Stanley
Mickey Stanley
Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley was a baseball player for the Detroit Tigers from 1964-1978. Stanley was known as a superb defensive outfielder over his 15-year career, though he is best remembered for the last few weeks of the 1968 season.-Early life:Stanley prepped at Ottawa Hills High School in...
, finishing second in the NASL, losing again to the Milwaukee Schlitz in the World Series.
The leagues merged after 1980 to form a new league, although the Auto Kings disbanded, ending pro softball at Memorial Field and the direct connection to the Caesars. In 1982, a Detroit team played at Softball City (in suburban Canton, Michigan) in the United Professional Softball League (UPSL), was led by former Caesar Charles Mitchell, and finished second in the league yet again to the Milwaukee Schlitz. That was the last year for professional softball in the US, as players once again returned to amateur leagues.