NSFSL League History


The Nassau Semi – Fast Softball League (“NSFSL”) takes tremendous pride in the fact that we are one of the oldest, continuously operating successful softball leagues around. Originally organized in the late 60’s, we were formally founded in 1971. However, for historical purposes, we regard the year of inception for the NSFSL as 1969, which means that the 2007 season is our 38th consecutive season.

The founder of our league, to whom we are eternally grateful, was a gentlemen from Great Neck, LI, -- Jerome “Jerry” Ettlinger. We began league play with 6 teams and within a few years, with the reputation for teams being comprised of quality ballplayers, our league quickly grew into one of the largest and best run softball leagues anywhere. Back in those early days, when soccer and lacrosse were not perhaps as popular in the US than they are today, there were many more adults playing modified softball than appears to be the case at present.

Indeed, back in the early years, our league supported many different conferences with multiple levels (A, B & a C league) of play. At one point, our league enrollment featured more than 70+ plus teams, and the competition was, in a word, spirited. That same sentiment carries forth to current times and there are many teams from the early days whose roots continue forward with legacy teams that have evolved over the decades.

Harking back to the early days, the NSFSL featured such notable teams as “Yes”, the “SOB’s”, “University Gardens”, “Halvin”, “The Nobles”, “Jack’s Lounge” and the “Crusaders”. The importance of good pitching was as prominent back then as it is today. Any recounting of league history would not be complete without a mention of such great pitchers as Steve “The Whiz” Buccoli (from the Nobles), Frank Gandini (from Halvin), Joe Greene (from the Bears and Blitz), among other dominant pitchers of the day.

Our league founder, Jerry Ettlinger himself pitched for many teams and although he never threw very hard was a highly successful pitcher for multiple championship teams. Hal Levin managed, pitched for and sponsored Halvin. He competed right up to the time of his untimely passing even pitching an inning one week before his passing. The spirit he brought to the games was rewarded with the naming of the championship trophy in his honor. For years the playoff champions received the Hal Levin Memorial Trophy. Our league is fortunate to continue to benefit from Jerry’s wise counsel and he remains our President Emeritus.


Spanning the latter part of the 1970’s, several new teams came along that were regular challengers to the established teams that founded the league. Some of these new teams included the Wrestlers, Pegasus, Crown Tire, the Americans, the Bears, the Blitz , the Raging Bulls, the Tigers, Unity, the New Yorkers, Val’s Trucking and Rolling Thunder.

For a period of almost 20 years during the mid 1980’s until the early 2000’s, Val’s Trucking (5), Rolling Thunder (4), Halvin (3), Cobras (3) and Wall Street (2) won the leagues championship multiple times. Although the names have changed many of the same players continue to play today. The league has had teams that have been playing for 20-30 plus years some passed from generation to generation like the Crusader’s and the Bandits whose leadership passed from father to son.

Many teams in our league today can directly trace their roots back to the founding of the league. For example, Genesis was originally an offshoot of Pegasus and Pegasus was an offshoot of Halvin. Wall Street is a descendant of Crown Tire/Precise Fuel/Mariners and then the Yankees. Rolling Thunder is in its 30th Anniversary year and has players from the Americans, Blitz and New Yorkers as well as the original Rolling Thunder team from 1978. Leather and Lumber has been together for 25 or so years. Joe’s Garage, founded in 1984, originally competed in the Alliance Leagues, can trace its roots back to teams such as Kenmar Stationary and Al’s Animals, Patsy’s and of course, Sigma Gamma Fraternity from SUNY Oswego. The Road Kill team similarly is a product of two long time teams (Road Warriors and Murderer’s Row) merging a few years ago to form a perennial league powerhouse.

The Raging Bulls have been together since the late 70’s and can trace it’s roots back to the Wrestler’s. The Cobras have been a mainstay in our league for many, many years as have the Bandits. The 59ers were descended from the 49ers, and the Cousins, Frankie & Johnny’s, J Farrell’s and Camp DeBaun have also been in our league for decades. Over the years, each of these teams have won titles at some level, or another. Over the past few years, we’ve added some teams and seen some teams fold, but for the most part, many of the NSFSL teams have continued to add to the rich heritage of our league.

The Nassau Semi Fast Softball League is fortunate to have long played its games at some of the finest facilities in Nassau County including Baldwin Park, Newbridge Road Park, Manorhaven Park, Cammerer Park, North Hempstead (now Tully) Park and Coes Neck Park. In the past, when our league was bigger, we also used fields in Woodmere Park, Freeport’s Cow Meadow Park, Eisenhower Park, Allen Park in Farmingdale, Shell Creek Park in Island Park, Bay Park in East Rockaway, Bligh and Lister Fields in Rockville Centre and even some fields in Queens, such as Francis Lewis HS. Jerry Ettlinger worked hard for 30 plus years to make sure our league continued to have access to some well maintained fields and we continue to work hard to ensure that relationships are kept up to continue our use of league assigned fields.

Over the last decade or so, although the number of teams playing in our league has decreased, many of the same teams return year after year. Many of the players in the league know each other well, such that when a team does not return , often times those wishing to keep playing can easily find a suitable team to join and continue. 10 years the league has consolidated and enjoys the continuity of knowing the same teams return almost every year. Many of the recent league champions continue to compete against one another at a very high level. But, at the end of the games, because of the closeness of the players in our league, friendships win out over any short term disagreements over a play on the field.

The NSFSL consciously works hard to foster a shared bond amongst the teams and players in the league. Among such measures we employ are the utilization of a league web site (available through www.leaguelineup.com) where league standings and game results are posted for all to see. As well, our league hosts a mid summer ALL STAR GAME & SKILLS COMPETITION in July that is a great way for players on various teams to get to one another even better. Over the past few years, we’ve re-established the Home Run Derby, as well as the Fastest Man in the League competitions to complement certain skill competitions for the elite pitchers in the league.

For many years, our league followed a playoff format of a winners and losers bracket, with double elimination. Through this format, some teams that suffered an early loss have preserved and come back to win the championship through the loser’s bracket route. While this format featured its share of excitement, pressures upon us to complete the scheduling of playoff games by Labor Day if possible have led to our league adopting the best of three on one weekend format that we have used for the past three years. Typically, there are three rounds that a team needs to win in order to be crowned as league champions.

From an organizational management perspective, in 2004, some of the active managers in the league set out to form a transition team that could guide the league going forward so that Jerry could retire to a less hectic schedule on weekends. That structured effort has led to the creation of the NSFSL Management Committee, which now oversees all league operations. As of this writing, (5/07) Anthony Mendolia (Roadkill) has assumed the CEO duties of League Commissioner, and is assisted by the League COO Peter Devine (Joe’s Garage), as well as Assistant Deputy Commissioner Larry Gross and League CFO & Controller John Ablamsky (Raging Bulls).

Any recapping of our league’s rich history would be incomplete without a recognition of the significant contributions from the Long Island Umpires Association, a division of the ASA. We are indebted to the many, many years of service and coordinating assistance from our friends who oversee the umpires association which supplies us with umpires, Elliot Weiner and Frank Janoscak.