1998 Women's Pro Fastpitch season

The 1998 Women's Pro Fastpitch season was the second season of professional softball for the Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF). The 66-game season was divided into two-halves, with the winner of each half meeting in a championship series.1998 Women's Professional Fastpitch League Brochure https://app.box.com/s/o46v5fedrjaq1fb6joyi Box.com 5 June 2016 1 February 1998 1998 WPF Season red white Women's Pro Fastpitch softball May 29, 1998 - September 5, 1998 6 ESPN2 1998 WPF Draft 1998 WPF Draft Desarie KnipferCal Poly-SLO Georgia Pride Regular Season 1st Half: Carolina Diamonds2nd Half: Orlando Wahoos Regular Season Champions Crystl BustosOrlando Wahoos WPF Championship Orlando Wahoos Carolina Diamonds Alleah PoulsonOrlando Wahoos WPF Seasons WPF 1997 1999 Teams, cities and stadiums TeamCityStadium Carolina Diamonds Gastonia, North Carolina Sims Legion ParkDirections to the Game http://carolinadiamonds.com/directions.htm www.carolinadiamonds.com 29 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/19991012021343/http://carolinadiamonds.com/directions.htm 12 October 1999 Durham Dragons Durham, North Carolina Durham Athletic ParkDurham Dragon News http://www.durhamdragons.com/main.html DurhamDragons.com 4 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/19981207034437/http://www.durhamdragons.com/ 7 December 1998 Georgia Pride Columbus, Georgia South Commons Softball ComplexTWO SENIOR SOFTBALL PAYERS DRAFTED BY THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOFTBALL LEAGUE. http://www.mutigers.com/news/1999/6/21/Two_Senior_Softball_Payers_Drafted_by_the_Women_s_Professional_Softball_League_.aspx Official Site of Mizzou Athletics 4 November 2015 8 December 1998 Orlando Wahoos Winter Park, Florida Alfond Stadium at Rollins CollegeShannon Rose Orlando Wahoos Disband https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1998/11/07/orlando-wahoos-disband/ Orlando Sentinel 5 June 2016 7 November 1998 Tampa Bay FireStix Tampa, Florida Red McEwen Field Scott Massey FireStix look for second league title http://www.sptimes.com/News/060100/Sports/FireStix_look_for_sec.shtml St. Petersburg Times 4 November 2015 22 June 2000 Virginia Roadsters Hampton, Virginia War Memorial StadiumFront Office http://www.virginiaroadsters.com/frontoffice.htm www.virginiaroadsters.com 29 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/19990912035538/http://www.virginiaroadsters.com/frontoffice.htm 12 September 1999 Milestones and Events Two WPF teams announced that they would play their games in different stadiums during the 1998 season: the Carolina Diamonds moved to Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina, and the Georgia Pride announced that they would play their home games at South Commons Softball Stadium in Columbus, Georgia. Changes for 1998 included a revision of the playing rules (43-foot pitching distance, 60-foot base distances), an expanded national television schedule (eight games on ESPN2), and the league's first all-star game, to be played at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio on July 14.WPSL History http://www.prosoftball.com/history.htm ProSoftball.com 4 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/19990822044247/http://www.prosoftball.com/history.htm 22 August 1999 Player Acquisition College Draft 1998 WPF Draft The 10-round 1998 WPF Draft was held December 6, 1997 in Palm Springs, CA. Georgia Pride selected pitcher Desarie Knipfer of Cal Poly as the first overall pick.AC Archive for the ‘Women’s Professional Softball League’ Category http://www.funwhileitlasted.net/category/womens-professional-softball-league/ Fun While It Lasted 4 June 2016 15 August 20141998 Women's Professional Fastpitch Draft Selections https://app.box.com/s/3j3fkzxe8k656zp5ztxc Box.com 4 June 2016 8 December 1998 League standings Source:Steve Dimitry Fast Pitch Softball History https://www.angelfire.com/sd/slopitch/fast.html Angelfire 5 June 2016 31 December 2007 TeamGPWLPct.GBOrlando Wahoos 66 42 24 .626 -2nd Half ChampionGeorgia Pride 66 36 30 .545 6 Carolina Diamonds 65 34 31 .523 7.51st Half Champion Durham Dragons 63 31 32 .492 9.5 Tampa Bay FireStix 66 27 39 .409 15 Virginia Roadsters 64 25 39.391 16 WPF Championship Series Sources:Bruce Wolfe Orlando Wahoos Win 2nd-Straight WPF Champion https://nfca.org/web_docs/fastpitchdelivery/1998/fdseptember1998-1.pdf NFCA Fastpitch Delivery 5 June 2016 1 September 1998 The 1998 WPF Championship Series was held at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina September 4–5. The winners of each half of the season met in a best-of-three series to determine the champion. 1998 WPF Championship SeriesOrlando Wahoos defeat Carolina Diamonds 2–0 Game Date Score Series(ORL-CAR) 1 September 4 Orlando Wahoos 8, Carolina Diamonds 0 1–0 2 September 5 Orlando Wahoos 8, Carolina Diamonds 2 2–0 1998 WPF Championship Series MVP PlayerClubAlleah PoulsonOrlando Wahoos Annual awards Sources: AwardPlayerTeamMost Valuable PlayerCrystl BustosOrlando WahoosHitter of the YearCrystal BoydGeorgia PrideHome Run ChampionsMonica ArmendarezCarolina DiamondsCrystal BoydGeorgia PrideCrystl BustosOrlando WahoosPitcher of the YearKaci ClarkOrlando WahoosDefensive Player of the YearShama WilsonGeorgia PrideCoach of the Year Sharron BackusOrlando WahoosGeneral Manager of the YearLorie BaranCarolina Diamonds WPF All-Star Game After the completion of the 1997 WPF season, the league circulated a questionnaire to players. At the suggestion of players on that questionnaire, the league scheduled an All-Star Game for the 1998 season.Ken Berger Women's Pro Fastpitch softball league to hold All-Star Game https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19980714&id=93FRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OggEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2405,7423109&hl=en 5 June 2016 Ocala Star-Banner 14 July 1998 9 The game was played on July 14 in Akron, OH at Firestone Stadium, televised on July 20 on ESPN2. The game was contested by a "Stars" team that played a "Stripes" team. The Stars team included players from the Diamonds, Dragons and Roadsters, while the Stripes were composed of players from the Pride, FireStix and Wahoos.Lopez, Bustos, Parker in All-Star Game https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-03-sp-371-story.html LATimes.com 5 June 2016 3 July 1998 The Stars beat the Stripes by an 8-1 score, in front of a crowd of 3,873.NPF History http://www.profastpitch.com/about/history/#1998 ProFastpitch.com 5 June 2016 1 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20080705041346/http://www.profastpitch.com/about/history/#1998 2008-07-05 dead Following is an incomplete listing of the All-Star rosters: 1998 WPF STARS All-STARSPlayerWPF TeamPositionCOACHESAll-Star Head Coach 1998 WPF STRIPES ALL-STARSPlayerWPF TeamPositionDee Dee Weiman-GarciaTampa Bay FireStixPAmy PutnamGeorgia PrideCCrystal BustosOrlando WahoosChelo LopezGeorgia PrideJennifer ParkerTampa Bay FireStixOFCOACHESAll-Star Head Coach References External links National Pro Fastpitch See also Sports List of professional sports leagues List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada Category:Softball in the United States Pro Fastpitch season Soft