What started as a simple kitchen table discussion, marked by a pair of salt and pepper shakers, has evolved into the now 50-year-old Peppars Softball Club (PSC).
PSC life and founding member Alison Bramwell said the club had its 50th anniversary on September 21 at Honeyeater House in Harrisdale where members, past and present, celebrated the momentous occasion.
“The venue was very well-decorated with a lot of memorabilia from over the years,” Mrs Bramwell said.
“There was a fantastic display of uniforms that were worn from day one through to the current year.”
Looking at the pictures taken throughout the years, Mrs Bramwell said she felt a sense of pride to be part of the club.
As she caught up with past acquaintances, she said talking about significant games was inevitable.
“The more the beverages, the better the stories become,” she said.
Mrs Bramwell said the origin of the club dated back to 1972 when her and her best friend were reserve players for the Blue Jays.
“It was around 1972 that two of my sisters Merle and Norah, played softball for a club called Blue Jays in the Western Australian Softball Association.
“After that time softball went quiet until 1974-75.”
That year, Mrs Bramwell said family and friends gathered around Nora’s kitchen table to chat about the idea of putting together a team.
“Following discussions we all wrote on slips of paper which went into a bowl right next to the burnt orange and mission brown condiment shakers with suggestions for team names and colours.
“It was decided that the team would be named Peppars with an A R S and the colours would be the then apparently fashionable orange and brown.
“We made the finals in the first season.”
Mrs Bramwell said she’s seen the sport evolve throughout the years.
“The sport itself is now a lot faster,” she said.
“It has a lot of safety factors. Back then, we didn’t wear mouth guards or batting helmets.
“There’s been a lot of rule changes – also to make the game safer.”
Life member Nicole London joined the club in 2007 after she was convinced by a friend.
“What I take away from this club is, we’re very family oriented,” she said.
“We’ve had over 670 members over the 50 years since the club started around the kitchen table with Ali’s sisters.”
