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While Earl Yagi handled the spring practices, he didn't want to manage the team. So, who to manage? Well, in those days team registration for the San Jose City Leagues was a chaotic first-come, first-served affair that took only a select number of new teams each year. So, if a new team like ours wanted to get in, you had to wait in line all night outside the Parks and Recreation Department for the 9:00 AM registration. Neil Christie volunteered to be our designated all-nighter, with the condition that he be named manager of the team if we got in. Since no one else wanted to spend a frigid night in line, and Neil was a good choice for manager anyway, we easily agreed. And Neil's sleepless night paid off. We successfully registered for the 1975 season, and Neil assumed managerial control of the club.
We didn't have full uniforms -- but the royal blue, red-trimmed, gold-lettered jerseys were a gaudy sight. No one wore baseball pants. Just jeans, except for Tom Sukup, who wore cords. What we had was a fashion nightmare. We had absolutely no idea how good we would be against other teams, so we just guessed at where we should be placed, opting for the middle-of-the-road C-2 league. Based on the way we were knocked around in our practice games, we may have overestimated our abilities. The 12-foot pitching arc was tough to get used to. The bases were shorter, the ball was bigger, and everything about the game was quicker. This was a different game than we were used to playing. Deciding on a team name brought up some debate. But among the usual names we could have chosen for our new team, we decided on that which was also the name of our weekend baseball league -- AWA. But just "AWA" wasn't enough. Professional sponsorship was common among most teams, and so we added the tag "Enterprises" to the name to make it sound more professional. Success came quickly for the young AWAs, although early in the '75 campaign the team was anything but spectacular. The season opener, an embarrassing 19-9 loss to the Alaskan Club, featured 12 AWA errors on defense and five strikeouts, three by Dennis Hawkins, on offense. Earl's laughing assessment of AWA's first ever game was right on the money -- "This is a joke!" But the team soon found its bearings, and by the second half AWA was contending. The turning point for the team that year came against P &J Air Conditioning, one of the league's better teams. Trailing 8-3 with two out in the bottom of the seventh, AWA began the comeback on a grand slam by Tony Franklin, and rallied for six runs to pull out a stunning 9-8 win. The team went on a tear after that, winning the next five games in succession, including an emotional playoff doubleheader at season's end. In the first game against P &J Air Conditioning, AWA dodged defeat when the potential winning run was tagged out at home plate with two out in the bottom of the seventh, setting the stage for AWA to pull off a 10-7 win in extra innings. Then, in the championship final against mighty Mohawk Packing, AWA rallied from a 10-3 fifth inning deficit to wrench out a highly-charged 13-10 triumph. We were champs in our first year! The team's success continued into 1976, as AWA won its first four games enroute to winning the first half pennant, qualifying the team for the playoffs at season's end. AWA's second league campaign was different than the previous season in that no dramatics were required. The team was cooly efficient all year, right down to the championship final against the Shady Oak Bombers, who we easily handled by a score of 9-4. In two years AWA had claimed its second league championship. Moving up to the "CC" league, AWA did not win a league crown in 1977, but the team's third campaign would still be one of its best. This was the year AWA discovered tournament play, and although the guys experienced life in the middle of the pack during league play, we shined in the three tournaments we played. The crowning moment of the team's 20-9-1 season came at the end of the year when AWA put it all together to win the Badsticks Tournament. Having to work our way through the losers' bracket, AWA won 9-7, 9-3, and 7-6 in successive games to get into the finals against the host Badsticks team, who was undefeated and sitting in the driver's seat. Needing to win twice, AWA came through with wins of 12-6 and 6-4 to grab the first place trophy. Tom Sukup's stellar play in center field earned him all-tourney honors while Earl Yagi's cagey pitching got him the top honor of all -- MVP of the tournament. The '77 season was also made memorable by the team's greatest comeback ever. Trailing Baggese Brothers Shell 19-10 with two out in the bottom of the seventh, AWA staged a wild and improbable rally, scoring nine times to pull the team into an incredible 19-19 tie. Though the game ended as a tie, future teams would hear the rallying cry of "Remember Baggese Brothers!" whenever faced with a huge late inning deficit. While most softball teams used the common four outfielder defensive alignment, the particular skills of Tom Sukup and Pat Koeplin allowed AWA to gamble with the use of a buckshort in those early years. Tom's great speed and range allowed him to patrol the vast expanse of center field, while Pat's quickness and his great ability to get a jump on the ball allowed him to play up short. A Pat specialty was turning an apparent single with a runner at first into a force out at second. In fact, most of his 13 career outfield assists were obtained this way. Once Pat retired, others were tried in his role without much success, and the strategy was soon abandoned for the more traditional four outfielder alignment. The 1978 season proved to be another exciting year for the young AWA team, although it was also one of transition for the team. Tony Franklin, a two-time team MVP and probably the most electrifying player ever to wear the AWA blues, struggled throughout the year with injuries and would not be a regular in the lineup again, finally calling it quits late in the '79 season. Pat Koeplin, our secret weapon at buckshort, called it quits at season's end. And legendary strikeout king Dennis Hawkins was already gone. In their stead arrived Dave Jackson's brother-in-law, portside slugger Joe Sammut, whose impact on the play and personality of the young AWA team was immediately felt. It was hoped the team's strong 1977 finish would carry over into the '78 campaign, especially since the team had been moved up to the City's top "C" League. And did it ever! The team came out of the gate smoking, winning the opener 16-5, and then reeling off consecutive wins of 12-0, 19-18, 21-6, and 31-3. The team needed only to beat second place and once-beaten Ochoa Roofing to complete an undefeated first half. But AWA stumbled against the Roofers, losing 6-5, forcing a playoff between the two a week later to determine the first half champion. And this time the guys came through in big style, pounding the Roofers 15-3 to claim a spot in the post season championships. In the finals against second half champion Guardino Pump &Well, the investment in Joe paid off in a big way. The AWA catcher sparked a six-run first inning with a towering grand slam home run, pacing AWA to a 9-4 win and the team's third league title in four years. That successful 1978 season culminated with strong tournament showings at Cotati (3rd place) and the Badsticks event (2nd place). AWA finished the season with an overall record of 16-8, and there seemed to be no obstacle that this team couldn't overcome. We were young and talented, playing well and becoming well-known around the San Jose softball scene. AWA Enterprises was a force to be reckoned with, and it was all great fun. Oh, there were some petty disputes among the players over playing time and some disagreement about how Neil should be running the team, but winning seemed to temper the clubhouse bickering. As it turned out, we really weren't as good as we thought we were, and our success had allowed us to forget why we were together in the first place.
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