Print, Photographic

Photograph

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Shanaman Sports Museum

Name/Title

Print, Photographic

Entry/Object ID

1578

Description

Erv Lind Florists fastpitch softball team of Portland, Ore., was one of the most successful women’s teams in the Northwest and included players from Washington. The team, which was managed by Lind (a 1985 National Softball Hall of Fame inductee) won the 1944 and 1964 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) national titles during its 29-year existence. The Florists had an all-time winning percentage of .775 and won city, metropolitan, regional and world championships and played teams from around the United States, Canada, Japan and the South Pacific. The 1964 team was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Among those players was pitcher Louise Mazzuca, shown in this photo in the center. Mazzuca was a standout athlete growing up in Tacoma. Mazzuca, who played for the Florists from 1959-62 earned All-America honors each season. She set pitching records at the national tournament as a 19-year-old and shared tournament MVP honors with future Hall of Fame pitcher Bertha Ragan Tickey and the Brakettes. It was Tickey’s team that beat Mazzuca and the Florists 1-0 in the title game. The two teams met again for the 1960 national title in Stratford, Conn., and again Tickey and the Brakettes beat the Florists and Mazzuca. Mazzuca struck out 75 batters in 45 innings at the tournament and shared MVP honors again with Tickey. The following year Mazzuca set records with three no-hitters at the national tournament despite not making the finals.

Lexicon

Search Terms

Softball, Baseball, Recreational

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Florists

Person or Organization

Mazzuca, Louise

Person or Organization

Lind, Erv

Person or Organization

softball

Person or Organization

fastpitch softball

Person or Organization

Portland, Oregon

Person or Organization

National Softball Hall of Fame

Person or Organization

Tickey, Bertha Ragan