Michael T. Mondak speaks about how each Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League team got its nickname

In the ten years I have been podcasting church softball games, I have seen so many teams compete for what is now the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy.  Tonight I want to reveal the origins of those team names.

I will start with the current teams.  The team I podcast games for, the Covenant Speed/Power is so named because many of the players can hit for power and are also fast on the base paths, always looking for hits that go for extra bases.  The Family Life Falcons got their name from their roots as First Assembly.  When it comes to the squad from New Wilmington, I thought of the jerseys that the players wear with a halo above a softball and I thought, halo… Angels!  That’s it!  New Wilmington has been the Angels ever since.  The St. Joseph’s squad is called the Pirates dating back to their inaugural season in 2021 because many of the players from that squad were Pittsburgh Pirates fans.  The New Life team is known as the Saints.  The Clenbanon (portmanteau of Clen-Moore and Lebanon) Raiders got their name from an inspiration from a Division III school in Alliance, Ohio whose sports teams are the Purple Raiders.  The Central Chargers got their name as an inspiration from the Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL.  The Truth & Grace Warriors (the newest team in the league this season) got their name from some of the great warriors from biblical times.  Grace Chapel has had many teams over the last ten years (the Storm, the Black Knights, the Blues, the Burgundies, and the Reds), but are presently known as the Rams.

But what about the teams that no longer exist?  I have already mentioned the defunct teams from Grace Chapel and First Assembly.  New Life once had a second team called the Golden Bears.  Neshannock Alliance once had the Eagles, West Middlesex had the Reds, St. John’s had the Rams, Bethany had the Colts, and Covenant had both the Bengals and the Tabernacles in addition to the Speed/Power.  Lebanon also had the Spartans and the Vikings in addition to the Raiders.  When Clen-Moore had their own team, they were known as the Hurricane (no S at the end).

What would some churches in Lawrence and Mercer Counties be known as if they had teams in the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League?  Notre Dame would have the Vikings, whose origins would date back to the one year I was a student at what is now St. John Paul II Elementary School.  St. Bartholomew’s would have the Devils.  First Presbyterian would have the Lions.  And Good Shepherd would have the Storm.

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