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Welcome To The
Sierra Sweethearts
Softball Team Website!





Vera "Granny" Miller, former pitcher for the nationally-known Fresno, California
Rockets and longtime charter member of the Sierra Sweethearts Softball Team.



~~~~~ In Memoriam ~~~~~


***It is with sadness that I report the passing of Vera Fern "Granny" Miller on August 11, 2006 in Oakhurst, California at the age of 93 years. She was a buddy of mine, a friend and mentor to a host of players who were her teammates, a friendly opponent and a great fastpitch softball player. IOW, I truly loved that woman!

***"Granny" was a charter member of the Sierra Sweethearts and was always ready to play and give her best for the team. Despite being older than all of the other players, she was a good communicator, a player who always gave 100% and the knowledge and experience she brought to the game was a source of amazement to myself and her teammates.

***Vera Fern Weybright was born in Raisin City on November 22, 1912. She attended the old Fresno Tech High School and while there, pitched them to their first county championship. She had started playing softball, or "kitten ball" as she once told me it was called, at the age of 10. She later married Eugene D. Miller who preceded her in death.

***Vera was a charter member of the famous Fresno Rockets softball team and pitched the first perfect game during the World Series of Softball in Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 34. She also played for teams in Dos Palos, Bakersfield and Los Angeles in addition to her longtime association with the Sierra Sweethearts in Oakhurst. "Granny" was also enshrined in the Athletic Hall of Fame in Fresno both as an individual and a team member and once appeared on the television show Truth or Consequences following a human interest story about her playing on the same team with her daughter and granddaughter.

***She finally hung up her spikes at the age of 74, completing a 64-year softball career. She was a long-time resident of Fresno but moved to Dos Palos from 1992-2004 and then to Oakhurst.

***Private services were held at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Laton.

Rest in peace, "Granny," we all truly miss you.



(Note: Although she only filled in for the Sweethearts once or twice, "Granny's"
daughter, Bette Louise Tietgens, was always supportive of her Mother and the team.
Bette, of Dos Palos, California, died on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at the age of 79.)



......In The Beginning......

---It was a cold March afternoon in 1968 when Dave Masonhall, a teacher at Oakhurst Elementary School in Oakhurst, California gathered an athletic and determined group of ladies from all age groups on the school's softball field to create the newly-formed women's division of the Sierra Softball League. One of those three teams was christened the Sierra Sweethearts and in 1998,the 30th anniversary of the team's creation, this web page was appreciatively dedicated.

(Another milestone was reached this year--2013--when the Sierra Sweethearts celebrated the 45th year of their beginning and many team members still communicate with one another, recounting a very special time of their youth.)


Team Photo #1 --- Early 1970s


First Row, L to R, Kathleen, Terri, Sandy, Shelley, Kathie.
Second Row, L to R, Terri, Teri, Sheila, Pat, Sheryl, Sheri.
Third Row, L to R, Janette, Beth, Jean, "Granny," Ruth.


---Those three women's teams (Sweethearts, Knockouts and Flyswatters) probably made up the smallest "league" in existence at that time but they enjoyed a 9-game season just the same. That season, the Sweethearts began a winning tradition that spanned the next eight years and they were crowned league champions in every season they played. Their amazing Sierra Softball League won-loss record was 120 wins and only 2 losses.


Team Photo #2 --- Early 1970s


L to R, Terri, Sandy, Kathleen, Shelley, Kathie, Ruth, Sheri,
Sheryl, Terri, "Granny," Teri, Pat, Sheila, Jean, Janette, Beth.



Team Photo #3 --- September, 1972


Celebrating another successful season of fun,
friendship and wins at a pizza parlor in Fresno.



Team Photo #4 --- 1975 Sierra Softball League Champions


Kneeling, L to R, Mary Beth, Kerry, Melanie, Jean.
Standing, L to R, Lynda, Jo, Ann, Nody, Chris, Vera.


---This successful tradition was achieved by a variety of players from all age groups (many of the players were ex-members of the Oakhurst School Raiderettes, another team with a winning tradition) but joined by a common purpose---to do the best they could at what they had learned and to enjoy themselves in the process.

---In 1969, the Sweethearts also began participating in the Foothill Women's League at Sierra High School in Auberry, California. It was a long drive, especially the trip home after the games, but the Sweethearts played there for three years winning two championships and one third place finish.

---In 1972, the Sweethearts joined the Calwa Women's League in Fresno and faced much tougher competition yet consistently finished in the top three spots in the league.

---Tournaments, out-of-state softball trips, parties, awards dinners and movies were also a part of the team's tradition. It was said at the time that players come and go, leagues come and go and other teams come and go but the Sierra Sweethearts only go---go on winning, having fun, meeting people, seeing new places and being part of an idea that the team is always more important than the individual.

---Known by their bright red and white uniforms and aggressive style of play, they won nearly 400 games playing an average of approximately 55 games per season---a season that began with grueling practices in mid-February and ended with the chill of early September.

---It took a great measure of personal sacrifice and dedication to be a member of a team where intensity was the keyword in practice. The workouts were long and arduous but players soon learned that this attention to fundamentals, strategy and psychological preparedness brought positive results at game time. Some players balked at the level of effort required and dropped out of the program. Those that stayed earned my utmost respect and repeatedly realized that the rewards were worth the effort. One oft heard comment from others was "We don't care if we win, we're just here to have fun." Our reply was "We're here to have fun AND win; there's absolutely nothing wrong with THAT combination!"

---Ages on the team ranged from 12-64 but they were a cohesive unit that featured a former Fresno Rocket, Vera "Granny" Miller and Pat Van Aman as the top pitchers. Over the years the roster also included Jean Lambert, Terri Mahoney, Lynda Scoggins, Kathy Allen, Robin Donnell, Ruth VanAman, Janette Schwabenland, Nora Gonsalves, Sheri Sheffield, Shelley Sheffield, Teri Wenzel. Jocelyn Joubert, Nody Grannis, Melanie Masonhall, Teena Johnson, Pearl Wood, Sheila Wood, Sandy Wood, Kathie Monroy, Bobbie Wall, Debbie Wall, Cheri Pascasio, Beth Madaus, Carol Davis, Liane Stone, Susie Rodgers, Shirley Gonsalves, Sheryl Allen, Kathy Johnson, Mary Beth Wright, Jenny Farlinger, Chris Farr, Debra Moore, Kerry Magee, Jo Masonhall, Sharon Majors, Mary Bradley, Ann Romine, Terri Von, Franceen Weisert, Nora Chipman, Toni Scott, Kathy Gudger, Patsy Cross, Bonnie Dunn, Debbie Dunn, Judy Shirley, Claudia Montgomery, Debbie Hampton, Beth Troxel, Linda Cudd and many others, including Assistant Coach John Danenhauer, contributed to the consistent success of the team.

Sweethearts Home Field


The old green backstop and field in the southwest corner of the Oakhurst Elementary School playground, the home field of the Sierra Sweethearts.


---For more information, if you have any comments, or if you were a member of the Sierra Sweethearts and your name is not listed here, please e-mail me at the address below. Also, if you have any news, messages, photographs and/or questions about the team, please send them to me via e-mail as a jpeg or gif and I'll upload them onto the page. Finally, if you have any names of players missing from the site, please let me know.

---Your comments and suggestions regarding this page are always welcome and appreciated so please send me an e-mail by clicking on the link below. Thanks, Dave.



Links


MATERNAL (Cates) GENEALOGY

PATERNAL (Masonhall) GENEALOGY

TRAVEL -- The Lure Of The Open Road

SPORTS -- Dave As Referee/Umpire, Coach and Player

SANTIAM RIVER BAND -- Dave's Band Website

MUSIC -- The Sounds That Soothe The Soul


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Send E-Mail To Dave

davemasonhall@blazemail.com





© 1998--Dave Masonhall