THE HISTORY

HAMILTON PONTIACS LADIES FASTBALL TEAM

 

 

OVER 30 YEARS OF FASTPITCH!

 

The Hamilton Pontiacs were formed in 1970 by Jack Butson, a man who had previously coached a women’s softball team in the 1950’s.  The team has been in existence since that fateful first season with the exception of two years in the early 90’s when it took a brief hiatus. 

 

Over those years, the team has seen well over 300 women play for the team and several male and female coaches as the game has changed substantially from one where bats were all wooden, no helmets were worn, uniforms were made of gabardine with steel zippers in them and steel spikes were an anomaly to today where the average bat cost is about $400, helmets complete with ear flaps and face shields are the norm, the spikes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the teams are wearing shorts to play the game! 

 

The team has traveled within Ontario to many cities to participate in tournaments and exhibition games – such as Sudbury, Ottawa, Barrie, Windsor, etc.      We have also been to locations outside of the province -- Eastern Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Quebec); Las Vegas, Nevada, Florida, Ohio.

 

Throughout all of those years, the team has consistently stood for the same reason – to provide the opportunity for women to play and enjoy the sport of softball/fastpitch while learning new things, meeting new people, and representing themselves, their sport and others around them in a professional manner. 

 

 

RESULTS ON THE FIELD:

 

On the ballfield, the Pontiacs have flourished for many seasons, winning many Tournament, Provincial and Eastern Canadian titles.  With the age changes of its core ballplayers, the team moved up to the Intermediate level (which has no upper age limit) in 1981.  The team has also participated at the Senior Level for a few seasons.  Throughout its history, the team has also been in good standing with the Provincial Women’s Softball Association (the sports governing body in Ontario).

 

The past few seasons have been particularly successful with the team winning:

 

YEAR	ONTARIO PROVINCIAL	EASTERN CANADIAN	TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE
2006	Silver	Gold	Champions
2005	Gold	Silver	Champions
2004	Gold	Gold	Champions
2003	Gold	Silver	Champions
2002	Gold	Bronze	Champions

 

 

Over the years, individual players on the team have been accorded various accolades – such as receiving the Provincial Most Valuable Player, Best Batter or Best Pitcher awards; the Eastern Canadian’s MVP and All-star awards; and the League MVP, Pitcher and other awards. 

 

The team prides itself on its reputation for playing a competitive level of fastball but, more importantly, playing it with solid effort and sportsmanship.  We emphasize the importance of teamwork, commitment, respect, trust, and learning.  We are proud of representing the City of Hamilton and our various sponsors and work hard to ensure that we represent the sport, ourselves, our fans and our sponsors with respect in everything that we do.

 

 

 

SPONSORSHIP AND FUNDING:

 

The Hamilton Pontiacs Ladies Fastball Team was originally established in 1970 as a Junior team (players were all below the age of 21 years), self-sponsored and organized by a group of coaches who wanted to see women’s softball resurrected within the City.   Hamilton Motor Products Automotive Dealership, under the ownership of Mr. Richard DuBois, quickly came into play the following year to sponsor the team for several seasons (hence the prefix which existed for many years of “HMP” and the team name of “Pontiacs”), as they had previously sponsored a “Hamilton Chevies” team in the early 1950’s.   The sponsorship continued until the mid-80’s when the team went again on its own and became player funded and operated. 

 

Over the years, various firms and associations have helped the cause (including the Hamilton Tiger-Cat Athletic Trust Fund) to keep the team operating within the City.  The players have also organized various fund raising events, as well as payment of a registration fee, to help cover the costs involved of operating the team.

 

During the season, the team has been known to undertake fundraising by:

§      Hosting a ‘spring dance’ event;

§      Selling Bright’s cheese packages for the holiday season;

§      Conducting a BBQ at the neighbourhood Sobey’s Foodstore;

§      Conducting carwashes, garage sales, etc.

§      Selling other fundraising packages (such as chocolate bars, lottery tickets, etc.)

 

All costs for hotels and transportation are borne directly by the players.  The team covers the cost of umpires, parks, tournament and registration fees, equipment (bases, balls, etc.), uniforms, and other administrative fees.  Over the years, the costs have increased substantially.  In 1970, the cost of a night at the ballpark was approximately $19 ($3 for the park; $6 for the game balls; $10 for the umpires).  Today, the costs are approximately $260.  Of course, one night does not make a season and equipment, tournament fees, etc. must also be covered. 

 

With travel to the Eastern Canadians and other out of city tournaments, the cost of travel is significant.  The team has had this opportunity over the past few years and, for that reason alone, a substantial amount of fundraising is undertaken.

 

 

WHAT CAN WE PROVIDE TO A SPONSOR?:

 

The team will work with various levels of sponsorship and sponsorship requests.  Many of our sponsors, recognizing the name recognition of our current team name (“Hamilton Pontiacs”) do not wish to be recognized in that fashion but instead prefer to be acknowledged through either personal contact and/or banner recognition.  The team can post a banner at it’s home games (and tournaments) recognizing the sponsor’s name and support. 

 

All of this said, individual requests will be dealt with on a separate basis with appropriate recognition provided.

 

The team travels to many locations and also plays all of its league games out of Mohawk Sports Complex within Hamilton so the opportunity for recognition is prevalent.  Also, articles in the paper reporting team results can also highlight the sponsor’s name.