This is the true story about little girls living in the small rural town of St. Paul, Indiana, in the 1970's. They began playing softball in 1971 when they were between six and nine years old and played together for seven years when their coach and sponsor entered them in the 1977 Indiana Slow-Pitch Girls Softball State Tournament where they succeeded in becoming the Indiana State Champions. Their coach, Lois Leffler-Nicolai, settled in St. Paul when her husband, Jimmy Joe Leffler, brought her to his hometown after they met and married in her home state of NJ. It only took a few days after arriving in St. Paul for Lois to realize she had just stepped back in time fifty years.
After having their six children in the 1960's Lois soon realized there was nothing in this small town for children to do. There was no kindergarten, no Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, no 4-H, no swimming pool, nothing. Thus, when her daughter Patty was six and Eileen was eight Lois decided to start a softball team for her girls to learn the sport. Since her youngest daughter, Brenda, was only 4, her mother asked her to be their batgirl. Lois had played softball throughout her growing up years in N.J., and she refused to see her children without the fun of a team sport.
Together they recruited every girl in their town between 6 and 9 years old and Coach Lois registered them to play in the girls' softball league in Greensburg and the Women's League in Shelbyville. The girls named their team the Saint Paul Super Stars, and kept improving each year until they became undefeted in 1976, winning every game and both season play-offs.
In 1977 the girls were 13-15 in age, and undefeated another year in both Decatur and Shelby Counties, plus winning the end of the season playoffs. They now had a sponsor, Rod Eliot, the owner of the Columbus Ponderosa Steak House. Rod and his friend, Russell Wilson, came to St. Paul before the beginning of the season and asked Coach Lois if their daughters could join the team and they would be their sponsor and buy new uniforms for all the team members. Coach Lois and the St. Paul Girls agreed and they changed their name to the Tri County Ponderosa Girls Team.
Rod entered the team in the Indiana State Girls 13-15 age level Tournament and you must read the book to find out the exciting conclusion!
