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ROOTS OF THE C.B.L.S.L.
The end of the 1990 softball season marks the end of the seventh season of the Philadelphia Gay community's league. This year, the City of Brotherly Love Softball League maintained its membership of ten complete teams and successfully expanded into an Open and General divisional format to insure a future for anyone who wants to play softball within the community. Big events for the league included one of its teams, Woody's, winning an out-of-city competitive tournament for the first time and the first election of one of its members, Jim Doetzl, to the executive council of NAGAAA. The league is dynamic, growing and fruitful. The roots of its success are long, intricate, important, and noteworthy. Actual attempts to organize softball playing Gays in Philadelphia extend into the past for more years than there has been a league. It takes at least two to conspire and the first known Philadelphians to cooperatively explore the possibilities of Gay softball were Jeff Eiberson and Blasé Grasso. The year was 1972. John Edgar joined their efforts at the end of the next season and Larry Mistichelli arrived before the 1975 season. The names are not nearly as important as the fact that three of the four continue to be active in the C.B.L.S.L., more than fifteen years later. Organized Gay softball in the city during the first several years consisted of the assemblage of about half a dozen players in or near Roscoe's, a now defunct bar on Spruce St. Sipping sodas, juices, and an occasional beer while waiting for fellow players, some would try to recruit the bartender to join them. He was very busy and had little free time in those day. Later, in 1984, when that bartender was able to sponsor his own team, Bill wood finally started to play softball. The troupe would eventually leave Roscoe's and head westward from center-city toward Hill Hall Field, on the University of Pennsylvania campus. It was on those playing fields the Masterbatters were born. It wasn't until occasional Sundays in 1975 that there would be enough Masterbatters to field a full team. Skill level and competitive spirit ranged from a few who had played college baseball to a transsexual who once tried to pitch a game in heels. The first uniforms were issued in 1976, designed by Grasso. They were some sort of purple, a vain attempt to obtain lavender from sportswear companies which were more conservative then. The trim was white, the number on back gold. The team name was spelled out on the front of the jersey, with a lambda displayed prominently above it on the left chest, also in gold. Maybe it was the uniforms, for during 1976 a full Masterbatters team began showing with regularity. Casual pick-up games were started with students and other users of Hill Hall Field. The second effort to organize Philadelphia Gay softball players occurred in 1979, completely independent of the Masterbatters. A member of the local Metropolitan Community Church, Lynn Freidel, encouraged members of his group to start playing softball together. The M.C.C. softball teams was formed with the intention of providing fellowship and casual recreation. The team would play outside of center-city near the intersection of Ridge and Roxborough Avenues. They were organized well enough to be able to play against local recreational teams from hospitals and other churches. Once, in 1980, they played against the Masterbatters at Starr Garden, in center-city at Sixth and Lombard Streets. It was the first known softball game played between two Gay teams in Philadelphia. The Masterbatters, having more competitive players, won easily. Interest in the M.C.C. team dwindled during 1981, and the team disbanded. Lynn Freidel returned to Gay softball as a charter member of Bike Stop in 1984. He remains active as a manager and willing worker for the league. Entering the 1980's, the skill level, dedication, and number of core players increased sufficiently so the Masterbatters could play with many other recreational teams. Their opponents were mostly teams from restaurants, bars, and other mainstream businesses from this area. Those names remain familiar to most Philadelphians, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boobies, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the United States Marine Corps, 3rd battalion, 4th division. The Masterbatters outgrew Hill Hall Field and played a fairly regular independent schedule on the Parkway Fields, on the north-side of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 22nd and 24th Streets. A third successful effort to create a predominantly Gay softball team in Philadelphia was made by Bobbi White in 1982. While working at Equus, she was able to tap into the very popular bar for enough talent to build a credible team. One key player to capably assist her was J. J. Hendley, who brought with him stories of softball playing Gays in New York and San Francisco. The provincialism's of Philadelphia must certainly have frustrated J. J. then, but it certainly didn't daunt him, for he would later become one of the most important factors in the evolution of Gay softball in Philadelphia. Early into the 1982 season, the Masterbatters and Equus played against each other. Both teams won one of the two games they played. Interest waned among some of the Equus players before mid-summer and they disbanded. The dedicated among them, including Hendley, joined the Masterbatters and strengthened the team. The Masterbatters' 1982 season ended with an invitation to a week-end tournament held at the Markwark Recreational Center, near 26th and Pine Streets. They were quickly dispatched by more experienced and talented teams, but played competently enough to be offered an opportunity to join a league that played there the following year. The year 1983 was the high-water mark for the Masterbatters. It was also their last year. They won only two games as members of the Week End softball League, yet considered their season a success. The Masterbatters' play was competitive enough to impress many other players in the league, players who never could have imagined that one day they would play against a team that was openly Gay. The Gay team certainly would have been welcomed back the next year, but the priorities of its players had changed. The most significant event in the history of the Masterbatters occurred not on the fields of Philly, but through their participation and observation of the 1983 Turnpike Tournament in Pittsburgh. The fullest scope of the potential of Gay softball had never been realized by team members until that Memorial Day Week-end. This wasn't only the first exposure to the wonderful experience of Gay softball evolved into a quality league and tournament to one team, it was the first such exposure for the entire city. The seed of resolve to build a Gay league for Philadelphia was conceived within the Masterbatters there in Pittsburgh. The Masterbatters didn't die they blossomed into the Philadelphia Gay Softball League. Born of five teams in 1984, the league was a modest but solid success. The Masterbatters distributed themselves rather evenly throughout the league. Each of the five team managers shared in running its affairs, among them were Edgar, Eiberson, Hendley, and Mistichelli. Three of the original teams exist today, namely, Bike Stop, Key West, and Woody's. Attempting to further include the Gay community, the league played its games at Starr Garden. The community responded with full support. The highlight of the first season of the league took place back at Hill Hall Field during the Fourth of July holiday. Relying on his strong bonds with his old teammates and numerous friends in New York City, J. J. Hendley convinced several teams to visit Philadelphia. The extended Gay community of Philadelphia responded to J.J.'s enthusiasm and assisted the league in holding a picnic during the casual tournament. Hendley's concept of bringing the camaraderie and self esteem that prevails during a softball tournament to Philadelphia, to expose his adopted city to a ray of that sunshine, was a complete success. The newborn league could only grow. Bobbi White rebuilt another Equus team and it became the first expansion team in 1985. This time she was assisted by an erstwhile Masterbatter, John Reutter. League leadership was streamlined into a Commission of three. Also in 1985, the league changed its name to its current one. A constitution was adopted and a full commission with a single commissioner was elected by league members in 1986. Larry Mistichelli served as the league's first commissioner. Prior to the 1986 season, Mistichelli and Hendley submitted the City of Brotherly Love Softball League's application for membership in NAGAA< fittingly, in the city of Pittsburgh, PA. Thusly, Philadelphia proudly became the 18th member of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association. Woody's won the league championship later that year, and became the first team to represent Philadelphia, in Gay Softball World Series X, held in New York City. It would take three years, until a Bike Stop team played at World Series XIII in Atlanta, before a Philadelphia team would win a game at this, the most prestigious annual sporting event of the national Gay community. The league continued to add one team each consecutive year until 1990, after it had grown to ten full teams. The bug the Masterbatters first caught in Pittsburgh still affects the teams today. Philadelphia has sent teams to national and international tournaments in at least fifteen cities. The City of Brotherly Love first hosted its own "Liberty Bell Classic" in 1988, with Norfolk Virginia Outlaws taking the virgin crown. Stable growth has made the C.B.L.S.L. a "blue-ship" for NAGAAA and the Gay community. Underlying the success of this organization is the work, dedication, and long-term commitment of many good people. Those mentioned certainly aren't the only contributors, in fact, they comprise only a small number of that sum. It is their longevity that merits attention. People such as Eiberson, Freidel, Mistichelli, and White, who are continuing to contribute as leaders of a league that was formed after they got involved in it are important, for experience helps nurture potential in Philadelphia and in every other city. Other cities have, have had, and certainly will need to have, people like them for their own successes. Hay softball is one of the most significant organizations the community has. With the social and recreational aspects come multi-faceted opportunities for communication, political organization, fund-raising, and perhaps utmost, pride in self and community. By John Edgar |
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