By Sarah Dewberry, CNN
(CNN) — In 1938, the Owls Club, a group of talented Black women in Seattle, Washington, won the first-ever Black women’s professional softball championship.
The next year, behind left-handed pitcher Lillian Brown’s dominant performance — where she struck out 12 Manette batters — the team, then renamed the Brown Bombers, won the championship again.
But by 1940, the team seemed to have disbanded.
Champions. Trailblazers. Forgotten.
What happened to the women who made national headlines and then disappeared with time? How is it that it’s taken nearly 90 years for their story to resurface?
That question led CNN Sports to Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State.
Stephanie’s passion for The Owls Club was electric. She wanted the world to know about these remarkable women who once dominated the local sports scene, drawing crowds and admiration across Seattle’s Black communities.
“Those fabulous young women were the talk of the town and community as some of the best softball players of the mid-late 1930s,” Johnson-Toliver said.
Who played on the Owls Club?
The Owls Club consisted of Lillian Brown, catcher Regiena (Twaites) Brown, first baseman Mary (Yarbra) Turner, second baseman Melvina Freeman, third baseman and pitcher Harriett (Bruce) Booker, shortstop Alice (Powell) Tanner, right fielder Mary (Porter) Tanner, left fielder Elizabeth “Dolly” (Martin) Smith, center fielder Evelyn Williamson, and subs Roberta (Johnson) Fair and Ina Miller.
Johnson-Toliver adds that the Owls played against all teams that consisted of Black and White players.
‘Play ball!’
Fans could come out to watch the Owls play at Sick’s Stadium, which is now a Lowe’s on Rainier Avenue in Seattle.
According to a May 6, 1938, article in The Northwest Enterprise, the Owls debuted with a 1-0 win over Quesmar AC in an exhibition game.
Al Smith, in his article, described fans taking to the Owls players “from the minute they went on the field to the minute they left.”
Behind home plate in their exhibition game was Twaites, who Smith said was “a very good catcher” and that “while warming up for the game, caught for two of the boys’ team pitchers, who remarked at Miss Twaites’ catching abilities.”
The team went on to win its first state championship, defeating Manette 21-1 on August 28, a Sunday; the game was called in the fifth inning.
Lillian Brown struck out 12 batters on the Manette team, according to a September 2, 1938, Northwest Enterprise article.
The Owls stormed out of the gate, scoring five runs in the first inning. In the fourth, they tacked on four more runs, highlighted by a home run from Lillian Brown. The fifth inning proved explosive: 16 Owls came to the plate, resulting in 11 runs.
Brown was dominant on the mound, limiting Manette to just three hits, while the Owls racked up 18. Martin stood out at the plate, going four-for-four.
With the Owls leading 21–1 in the fifth inning, the game was called early; Manette’s only run came in the third.
The Owls were awarded a striking 30-inch trophy and small gold baseballs to commemorate their victory.
In 1939, the team — now called the Brown Bombers, though it’s unclear why it changed its name — worked to defend its title.
In a September 1, 1939, article, the Bombers claimed their second consecutive state championship on August 27, 1939, behind the pitching of Lillian Brown, who defeated the Manette girls’ team 11-3.
The last article mentioning the softball team was published on September 27, 1939, when a dance was held in the team’s honor.
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