History
written by Commissioner Gallaway
The Potomac Wiffleball League has grown from a 4.5 team opening season in 2005, to a 12 team, two season a year league.
The Potomac Wiffleball League was formed in May 2005, by Commissioner Chris Gallaway. Gallaway had been the commissioner of now defunct Lawrence Wiffleball League in Lawrence, Kansas, in 2003. 2005 saw the playing of Wiffleball on the banks of the Potomac for the first time since the Senators moved to Texas.
Where do you get these rules?
The rules were first taken from the London (OH) Wiffleball League. (http://www.londonwiffleball.com/) A few modifications were made for the purposes of the League, but for the most part, they were the same, including the dimensions of the bases and pitchers rubber. The Rules can be changed by a super-majority vote of the mangers of all the league teams.
The super-majority allows for ridiculous suggestions to be smacked down as they so richly deserve. Among these, the persistent case made by Just Look at Yourself that girls be allowed to use a bigger bat, and that they need to get permission from their husbands before they can play, or vote in federal elections.
How do you create the stats, box score, and scoresheets?
We use FixedIt! Baseball Scorebook to generate our box scores, stats, and scoresheets. They’re a great outfit, and you pay for the software once and get updates for life.
All games are videotaped, and the Commissioner uses the software to score the games off of the videos to ensure consistent scoring.
Are you violating some copyrights with your use of the terms “Wiffleball”, “World Series”, and “All-Star Game”?
We love the Wiffleball people, and if we’re violating their copyright, we sincerely apologize. It’s definitely not for profit, and, trying to track down the assets of the League would involve unlocking the trunk of the Commissioner’s car and taking out the bases, fence, poles, and balls and bats.
As far as the rest, we love major league baseball the sport, but we could give a warm bucket of spit about what the Major League Baseball owners, which clearly includes the Commissioner’s Office, thinks they own. We’ll make a deal with them; they elect an independent Commissioner, and we’ll honor their copyrights. In the meantime, it’s best we go our separate ways. (If the Lerner family is reading this, we don’t lump you in with the other owners. So if you are willing to upgrade the Commissioner’s Season tickets, sec 207, row 8, seats 1-4, we’re willing to talk.)
Who designed your logo?
Peter Feddo, a young turk from Richmond, VA, with ambition beyond his ability and a bit of a snotty temper designed the PWL logo free of charge. We like it, and we like Peter. Which usually puts us in the minorty on both counts. The logo features the Potomac River, a Wiffleball, a Wifflebat, and the US Capitol, which we can see from our fields.
What’s the deal with the fence?
The fence, the most important part of any Wiffleball field, is erected before every game. And what goes up, must come down. In fact, tradition holds that the losing team of the last game played on the field is responsible for taking down and rolling up the fence.
The fence itself is 4’ by 100’ bright orange safety/construction fence available for $28 from any hardware store. There are 5 poles that hold the fence up, and they are 5’, lightweight steel fence post. The two foul poles (which really should be called “fair” poles, right?) are made out of 4’ to 14’ telescoping poles designed to attach pool skimmers. It’s all held together with a little love and some straps.
What is your equipment?
Balls – Official Regulation Baseball Sized Wiffle Ball made by The Wiffle Ball Inc, Shelton, CT.
Bats – 32” yellow Wiffle Bat made by The Wiffle Ball Inc, Shelton, CT.
Bases – 15” x 15” x 3” padded bases
Pitcher’s Rubber – Junior Sized Pitching Rubber
Two new balls, (from boxes, not bags) are used for each league game. Though many Wiffleball pros know that new balls are not desirable from a pitching standpoint, and in some leagues, pitchers use balls for years, or until they get a 1/4 in crack or larger, at the PWL we’re more of the “live” ball era. Like all new balls, they have a lot of factory shine. The balls are rubbed with a special mud, pulled from a secret location in Potomac River. In addition to taking the shine off the ball, this had the added benefit of making them toxic.
Commissioner
Chris Gallaway became the first Commissioner of the Potomac Wiffleball League, elected in 2005 by the teams, mostly because he owned the balls, bats, bases and fence. In order to avoid the conflicts that would seem so apparent in a player in the league also serving as commissioner, Gallaway has entrusted the day-to-day management of his team and his play during the games to Wendy Selig-Prieb. This allows him to act as a fair and impartial commissioner on league matters.
Deputy Commissioner
For the Fall 2006 season and beyond, Gallaway named a Deputy Commissioner to assist with the mangement of the league. Mostly, this means helping setup the fence and helping to umpire and score. Stephen Zigmund was named the league Deputy, ignoring complaints that the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner shouldn’t be from the same team. Zigmund was instrumental in the layout of Field 2 in one of his first acts as Deputy Comissioner. But since that time, has honestly been a bit of a disappointment.
Special Moments
Homers By Female Players
The first over-the-fence home run hit by a female player was hit in 2005 by Liz Smith, a guest player with some college ball experience for Showcase Showdown. When asked what she thought about the suggestion that girls should use a larger bat Liz said, “Girls? Girls are what you sleep with after the game. Not what you play with during the game.”
Liz Smith holds the ball that she hit the first ever female home run with. The ball has since been signed, and now resides in the Wiffleball Hall of Fame.
- posted 817 days ago in History
