New Jersey Statesmen
The New Jersey Statesmen, sometimes seen as Trenton's New Jersey Statesmen, later named the Trenton Statesmen and the Trenton Champales, were a professional softball team that played in the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) from 1977 through 1979 at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey (1977–78) and Wetzel Field in Chambersburg, New Jersey (1979). League history During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several men's professional slow-pitch softball leagues were formed in the United States to build on the growth and talent in the booming men's amateur game during this period. The American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) was the first such league, launching in an era of experimentation in professional sports leagues. The APSPL was formed in 1977 by former World Football League front-office executive Bill Byrne, who would go on to found the Women's Professional Basketball League. Former New York Yankees star Whitey Ford was the first APSPL commissioner. The New Jersey franchise changed names in each of their three seasons - New Jersey Statesmen (1977), Trenton Statesmen (1978) and Trenton Champales (1979). Ken Goodwin, a retired sales manager, led a group of owners with the franchise in Trenton, and the team would feature former Major League