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Brakettes Softball: It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This!
When you talk about softball dynasties, there’s only one name that comes to mind - the BRAKETTES! The past eight decades have seen remarkable changes in all facets of life. The one constant, however, is alive and well on the softball diamond in Stratford, CT.
Brakettes softball has been the barometer for measuring the sport’s success. Sponsors names have changed, but the final product keeps getting better and better with age. It’s hard to appreciate the Brakettes’ overall history without putting it into its proper historical perspective.
Since the team, then known as the Raybestos Girls All-Stars, was formed in the summer of 1947, they have survived and thrived with the test of time. Think of it, during the team’s 76-year history: 14 different Presidents have occupied the Oval Office; men have walked on the moon; and Communism came crashing down with a concrete wall in Berlin. Despite depressions, recessions and obsessions, the Brakettes remain synonymous with softball excellence.
It’s doubtful William S. Simpson, the General Manager of Raybestos Division, who organized the company-sponsored (Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc.) team, could have imagined how monumental that decision would become. The first-year team that compiled a 16-4 record and lost in the state tournament quarter-finals 22-21 didn’t do much to warrant many headlines in 1947.
That was the year when pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in his X-1 test plane. Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood were getting rave reviews for the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to debut in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. And all major league ballparks said a sad farewell to a cancer-stricken Babe Ruth.
Since that time, however, it’s been difficult keeping the Brakettes out of the news. With 4,471 games played, 4,058 victories, 3 World Championships, 28 ASA National Championships, 12 WMS Championships, 24 National Hall of Fame members, and 11 Olympians, the Brakettes are clearly the #1 name in women’s fastpitch softball. In 2022, the Brakettes organization celebrated their 76th season of competition.
Recognized as the greatest organized women’s sports franchise of all time, the Brakettes’ 28 ASA National Championships are unparalleled, and only approached by Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees’ 27 World Series victories. The Raybestos Brakettes won eight straight titles from 1971 through 1978, a mark comparable to the Boston Celtics’ domination in the 1960's or UCLA basketball from 1964-73.
The Brakettes have been led by veteran manager and recent National Hall of Fame selectee John Stratton, who enters his 46th season in the organization. Stratton has fashioned a 1492-141 (91.3%) record in his 29 years managing the Brakettes, which includes 15 of the club’s championships.
Preceding Stratton was a star-studded array of coaching talent directing the team’s fortunes, including Bernie Kaplan (1947-56), Vin Cullen (1957-61), Vincent "Wee" Devitt (1962-67), and two-time Olympic team coach and Hall of Fame manager Ralph Raymond (1968-94).
In addition to great leadership on the field, the Brakettes were fortunate to have the likes of the late Joseph T. Barber, affectionately dubbed Mr. Softball, as its general manager for nearly 40 years. Barber, a past president of the Amateur Softball Association, was succeeded as GM by the late Bob Baird in 1988. But had it not been for the efforts of Connecticut resident David Olin Carpenter (deceased), who sponsored the team from 1996 through 2007, the greatest softball team in history would now be mentioned in the past tense.
Pat Sanders, whose company, Hypack, was the official technical sponsor of the Brakettes from 2009 to 2016, oversaw two highly successful Brakettes reunions, in 2011 and 2016, and was instrumental in obtaining 501(c)(3) non-profit status for the Brakettes. Winning six straight loser's bracket games to cop the 2012 Fastpitch Championship Invitational in Henderson, NV, was a highlite of his tenure.
Whether the team was called the Raybestos Brakettes, Hi-Ho Brakettes or Stratford Brakettes, the nearly 400 players who have proudly worn the red, white and blue uniforms (and we mustn’t forget that set of hunter green in 1987) have dazzled hundreds of thousands of fans with their flare for the dramatic, their workmanlike character and professionalism and their total commitment to continuing the world’s greatest softball tradition.
All who have played for the Brakettes have made a contribution and are part of this wonderful legacy. It’s safe to say that the best of the best was the late Joan Joyce, who also is considered by experts to be one of the greatest female athletes of all time.
Joyce, a native of Waterbury, CT, has to rank very close to Babe Didrikson Zaharias as the greatest woman athlete of all time. While she made her name as a softball player, Joyce was an accomplished basketball and volleyball player. The 5-foot-9 Joyce averaged 25 points per game in AAU basketball competition and was a three-time All-America. Three months after she took up bowling, Joyce won the Connecticut state championship. Following her amateur softball career with the Brakettes, Joyce helped establish and played in (along with other former Brakettes) the International Women’s Professional Softball Association in 1976-79 until it folded. She then joined the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association tour where she was a solid player for 19 years.
However, it was her 17 years on the softball diamond at Raybestos Memorial Field where Joyce became a legend. In that span she pitched 3,397 1/3 innings and won 429 games against just 27 losses. She struck out 5,677 batters, hurled 105 no-hitters and 33 perfect games. She surrendered only 102 runs in 476 games for an ERA of 0.21. Her 20-year amateur career also included three seasons in the mid-1960's with the Brakettes’ arch-rival, the Orange, CA, Lionettes. Named to the ASA All-America team 18 straight years, Joyce was chosen MVP eight times. And when she was not on the mound, the versatile Joyce compiled a lifetime batting average of .327 and until recently, she held most of the Brakettes’ season and career hitting records.
Joyce became the women’s softball coach at Florida Atlantic University in 1994 and built the team into a perennial NCAA tournament team, winning over 1000 games before her March, 2022 passing.
The following is a chronology of the organization since its inception:
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| 1947 |
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Raybestos Girls All-Stars were formed by William S. Simpson, General Manager of the Raybestos Division. |
| 1948 |
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The tag "All-Stars" was dropped and the team assumed the name "Brakettes," as the Stratford, CT-based plant produced brake linings for automobiles and trucks. With an 18-2 mark, the team captured the Eastern Coast Women's Softball championship. |
| 1950 |
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Brakettes won their first National Tournament game, edging the host Thompson team of San Antonio, TX, 2-1. |
| 1956 |
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Pitcher Bertha Ragan comes East and combines with 15-year-old Waterbury phenom Joan Joyce to usher in a new era. Brakettes finish fourth in Nationals in Clearwater, FL. |
| 1958 |
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National Tournament makes its first appearance in Stratford at Raybestos Memorial Field and the Brakettes (52-5) capture their first of 28 ASA titles. |
| 1960 |
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Team ties all-time record by winning third consecutive National Championship. |
| 1961 |
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In Portland, OR, Brakettes finish third, as they lose a 2-1, 19-inning marathon to eventual champion Whittier, CA, Gold Sox as Joyce pitches 32 innings on final day with 67 K’s. |
| 1965 |
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Representing the United States at the first international Women’s Softball Tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Brakettes finish runner-up to host team. |
| 1966 |
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Brakettes set a club record with 74-4 mark. |
| 1967 |
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Considered by many experts the greatest women’s fast-pitch softball team ever assembled. They win their 6th national championship, the National All-Star Series, and the Pan American Games all in the same year. |
| 1968 |
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Ralph Raymond debuts as manager and team ties Orange Lionettes with their 7th National title. Bertha (Ragan) Tickey makes her final appearance, throwing a 13-inning no-hitter with 19 strikeouts in win over Fresno Rockets. |
| 1969 |
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Catcher Mickey Stratton becomes the first Brakettes player to be inducted into the National ASA Hall of Fame. Brakettes win 1,000th game in team history. |
| 1970 |
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see History thru 1970 for summary to this point. |
| 1971 |
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Brakettes finish season undefeated at 57-0, the first of an unprecedented eight straight ASA crowns.
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| 1973 |
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Five straight wins in the loser’s bracket propel the Brakettes to National Championship, but more importantly earned them the role of host in the 1974 World Championships at Memorial Field. Joyce (8-1) allowed only one run in 69.2 innings of play. |
| 1974 |
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The team becomes the first ever to win four consecutive ASA championships and the first USA team to capture the Women’s World Championship, which was held in Stratford. |
| 1976 |
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John Stratton steps in for Raymond, sidelined for the year with a heart attack, and leads an entirely new team to their most unlikely ASA crown in Stratford. Newcomer Barbara Reinalda embarks upon her Hall of Fame career for the 44-11 Brakettes. |
| 1978 |
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Brakettes continue to dominate the decade and capture their 8th consecutive National title, while arrival of future Hall of Famer, Kathy Arendsen, enables Brakettes to repeat as World Champions in El Salvador. Team finishes with 78-8 record. |
| 1980 |
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Pitcher Arendsen hurls five consecutive no-hitters during season and Brakettes annex National crown in East Lansing, MI. |
| 1981 |
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Team misses out on one of greatest comebacks in ASA history as Orlando, FL, Rebels, led by future Brakettes shortstop Dottie Richardson, win 2-1 in "if" game and earn berth in World Championships in Japan. |
| 1983 |
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Seven Brakette players are named first-team All-America, the most selected from one team in one year. Brakettes lost second game of the four-day tournament in Salt Lake City and they had to win 9 games in 48 hours to repeat as champions for 18th time as Trumbull’s Pat Dufficy earns MVP laurels. |
| 1985 |
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Following decision by Raybestos-Manhattan to drop its sponsorship, primarily because it had closed its Stratford plant, local industrialist F. Francis "Hi-Ho" D’Addario assumes control and the team regains ASA crown in East Lansing, MI. Brakettes also won the World Games title in London and the International Tournament in Haarlem, Holland. Arendsen pitches a team-record 162 consecutive scoreless innings. Brakettes also win their 2,000th game in team history. |
| 1986 |
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The Brakettes win the World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand, marking the final time a club team would represent the United States. During the summer season the Brakettes win gold medal in U.S. Olympic Sports Festival and Challenge Cup II in Vancouver, Canada, before finishing runner-up in ASA tourney in Pekin, IL. |
| 1990 |
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D’Addario Industries drops its sponsorship and Stratton and Baird are left scrambling to find another. Enter Raymark of Trumbull, CT, the parent company of Raybestos Products of Crawfordsville, IN, who come to the rescue through the 1995 season. Team responds with the first of three straight championships, two of them in Redding, CA. |
| 1991 |
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Down to their last strike in Decatur, IL, the Brakettes stage another miraculous comeback to annex the title. Through this year, a total of nine Brakettes have been named to the ASA Hall of Fame. |
| 1994 |
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Brakettes score team-record 631 runs, but the season ends in disappointment at Borg Warner Field in Decatur, IL with an uncustomary 7th place finish. Raymond resigns to concentrate on his new role as Team USA mentor. |
| 1995 |
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John Stratton leads the club to a 57-3 record and third place finish at Decatur. |
| 1996 |
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Raybestos leaves Connecticut and David Olin Carpenter, a Connecticut resident, takes over as the main sponsor of the team. Also, five ex-Brakettes help the USA Olympic Softball team take the Gold Medal.
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| 2000 |
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Olympic team visits Stratford and Brakettes play them tough, losing a pair of 2-0 games in front of 3,300 fans.
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2002 |
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Brakettes go 78-1, winning their 24th ASA National Championship, their first since 1992. It was Brakettes’ first home tournament title since 1976. Team sets new home run record with 44. Team wins 3,000th career game. |
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2003 |
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While establishing a new home run record with 65, the Brakettes win their 25th ASA National championship with a 65-5 record and finish fourth in the Canada Cup, highest finish for a club team. |
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2004 |
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Brakettes win their third consecutive ASA National championship, and 26th overall, with a record of 50-4, despite losing 13 members to the fledgling National Pro Fastpitch league. |
| 2005 |
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Brakettes play 20 games against NPF teams during its 51-17 campaign, which ends in a runner-up finish at Nationals in Stratford.
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| 2006 |
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Brakettes field two teams – an amateur ASA team, which wins its 27th National Championship and fourth in five years, and an NPF entry (2006 only), which finishes runner-up in the playoffs. NPF team features Most Valuable Pitcher, Sarah Pauly, who leads the league in wins and ERA; Offensive player of the Year Jessica Merchant, who tops the league with 12 home runs; and Kelly Kretschman, who eclipsed all NPF batters with a .410 average. ASA team takes two of three from the Dominican Republic in mid-season showdown, battles the NPF Brakettes in two fierce matchups, (1-0 and 2-0 losses), and only has one loss to an amateur team en route to a 46-4 record and a five-game sweep through the Nationals. |
| 2007 |
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Brakettes claim 28th ASA in crown South Bend, IN, when rain and wet fields wash out the final day. Brakettes were the only unbeaten team remaining in the field. It was the first time that both men's and women's nationals were held at the same time at the same venue. |
| 2008 |
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For the second year in a row the final day was a 'washout' as the Brakettes lost on the international tie-breaker to WNY Xtreme in opening round of bracket play. Five wins later the team had to settle for third place as officials cancelled the remainder of the tournament due to wet fields. The Brakettes had been set for an exciting Sunday afternoon, scheduled to play the Xtreme again, and, if successful, needing two victories over the So. Cal. Hurricanes for the title. This turned out to be the final ASA Women's Major in history. |
| 2009 |
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The Women's Major Softball National Championships made their debut at DeLuca Field but the Brakettes were upset in the winner's bracket semifinals and finished fourth. |
| 2010 |
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Manager John Stratton led the Brakettes to a 57-1 record and first WMS title. After opening with a 7-3 loss to Newtown Rock, PA, team reeled off 56 straight wins for their longest winning streak since the 1971 unbeaten 57-0 team. Rachele Fico of Monroe, the 19-year-old pitching sensation, was spectacular with a 33-0 record and 305 K's in 201 innings. |
| 2011 |
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Brakettes go undefeated for only the second time in their history at 63-0 and stretch winning streak to 119 games. Stephanie Call broke Pat Dufficy's previous RBI record with 90 and established new single-season homer mark with 31. |
| 2012 |
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While winning third straight WMS crown, Brakettes catpured the Fastpitch Invitational Championship in Henderson, NV, by winning six straight loser's bracket games, capped by a 7-0 and 3-2 sweep over the Southern California Hurricanes. Win streak ended at 168 games when the Brakettes lost a pair of 5-3 games to the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch league on the way to the Vegas tourney. |
| 2013 |
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Playing in their first USSSA World Series in Rockford, IL, the team added another trophy to its collection by beating HOOTERS of Lansing, MI, twice on the final day to conclude the season with another perfect record of 68-0. Emily Weiman of North Carolina State, was the tourney's Most Outstanding Pitcher. |
| 2014 |
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Season marked the debut of the 'Battle of the Sexes' between Brakettes and the Bridgeport Bluefish at Harbor Yard before 3,244 fans. Bluefish scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to prevail, 2-1. Brakettes defended their WMS title. |
| 2016 |
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Brakettes captured championships in St. Louis, Lyons, PA, and Pekin, IL, before winning seventh straight WMS championship. |
| 2017 |
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Brakettes played with heavy hearts as 19-year-old infielder Danni Kemp of Milford, CT, passed away March 10 following a courageous seven-month battle with inoperable brain cancer. St. Louis Saints upset the Brakettes in the winner's bracket semifinals before the Lyons, PA Spirit eliminated them. |
| 2018 |
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Knocked into the loser's bracket in the WMS winner's bracket final by St. Louis, in a game in which Brandice Balschmiter ended her illustrious career with an injury, the Brakettes captured three straight games on Sunday to win the title. Raeanne Geffert no-hit the Spirit in the loser's bracket final by 7-0. She came on in relief of Kaysee Talcik to earn the 15-7 victory over the Saints. In the "If" game Talcik was the winner in a 7-3 decision. |
| 2019 |
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The Brakettes outscored four bracket play opponents 39-1 to capture their ninth WMS crown, beating the Spirt 11-3 in the title game. Team capped the season with a 46-1 overall record, which included the Cornfield Classic championship in Lyons, PA. Team's only defeat came opening day in the debut of the Brakettes new Junior Brakettes club. |
| 2020 |
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Brakettes won their 10th WMS championship. |
| 2021 |
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Cornfield Classic and WMS Champions. Were runnerup to the Junior Brakettes at the Caroline Farley tourney in Concord, New Hampshire. |
| 2022 |
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Brakettes captured the New Jersey Heatwave and WMS championships. |
| 2023 |
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Brakettes finished third in WMS |
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