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Winger: Plummer’s book a great read for fastpitch fans
By Don Winger
for the Daily News
If you want to know anything about softball, just ask Bill Plummer III. Actually, you can get all your answers in Plummer’s recently published book entitled The Game America Plays: Celebrating 75 Years of the Amateur Softball Association.
A former sports writer for the Syracuse Herald Journal, Plummer has been employed by the ASA at its Oklahoma City headquarters since 1979. He began as publicity director and has worked his way up the ladder to ASA Hall of Fame Manager.
Plummer, who was a frequent visitor to Midland when the city played host to several ASA national tournaments, gives a detailed history of the ASA, beginning with its founding in 1933 by Leo Fischer and M.J. Pauley.
The book details the history of the ASA decade by decade. It talks about the early financial struggles of the ASA until it was able to get on its feet following World War II.
Among the early supporters of the ASA was William Randolph Hearst, who promoted the first national tournaments through his many newspapers and supplied the trophy presented to the winning team.
The book also details how the rules of softball were developed from the beginning of the ASA through today. It also talks about the development and popularity of slowpitch.
Particularly interesting are anecdotes about some of the famous players of the game, both men and women, many of whom are enshrined in the national Softball Hall of Fame.
Midland native Bill Humphrey’s contributions to the game are highlighted in a section dealing with umpires. It was Humphrey, along with ASA National Umpire-in-Chief Tom Mason and Ron Jeffers of Cincinnati, Ohio, who convinced the ASA Board of Directors to establish national umpire schools in the early 1980s.
Humphrey also was chosen by the United States Olympic Committee to umpire games in the 1978 U.S. Olympic Festival. In 1997-98, he served as national president of the ASA.
His many works with the ASA have earned him enshrinement in the National Softball Hall of Fame.
Plummer’s book contains many photographs of past and present players, managers, sponsors and commissioners. It also has action photos and still photos of both players and teams.
Another interesting section contains records from both the men’s and women’s national fastpitch championships.
For example, longtime local fastpitch fans know about the feats of Al Linde when he pitched for the Dow A.C.s. But before that, he was an ace pitcher for the Hammer Field Raiders of Fresno, Calif., helping lead them to back-to-back national championships in 1943 and 1944.
It is evident that Plummer has put a lot of work into researching material for his book. I think it is a must for every fan of the game.
Don Winger is the retired executive sports editor of the Daily News. Email him at dwinger103@aol.com or telephone him at 631-0347.