Diamond Dreams: A History of University of Oregon Softball

The University of Oregon boasts a rich athletic history, dating back to its first intercollegiate competition-a baseball game against Monmouth College in 1877. From those early days, Oregon Athletics has grown to encompass 14 teams with state-of-the-art facilities, including both men’s baseball and women’s softball. This article explores the history of the University of Oregon softball program, from its humble beginnings to its rise as a competitive force.

Early Days and the Impact of Title IX

Prior to the enactment of Title IX in 1972, women's sports at Oregon, including softball, received limited funding and support. However, the landscape began to change in the mid-1970s.

The Breakthrough: 1976 and Beyond

Oregon softball achieved a significant milestone in 1976 when the team qualified for the Women's College World Series for the first time. In 1979, the program gained a permanent home with the construction of its own field on campus. Since then, the team has made seven more appearances in the Women's College World Series, solidifying its place as a contender in collegiate softball.

From Howe Field to Jane Sanders Stadium

The Oregon Ducks softball team represents the University of Oregon in NCAA Division I college softball. The Ducks compete in the Big Ten Conference and are led by head coach Melyssa Lombardi. Oregon plays their home games at Jane Sanders Stadium after playing at Howe Field through 2015.

Notable Alumni: Leaving a Mark On and Off the Field

Throughout the decades, Oregon baseball and softball alumni have gone on to have careers beyond the diamond. Some have played Major League Baseball or Women’s Professional Fastpitch, while others run businesses, coach the next generation of baseball and softball players, and give back to their communities in meaningful ways. These are just a few of the men and women of Oregon who have left their mark on and off the field.

Haley Cruse Mitchell: From Duck to Social Media Star

Haley Cruse Mitchell, BS ’20 (business administration), is a recently retired USSSA Pride softball player and content creator. Before becoming Oregon softball’s only player in program history to lead the team in hitting for four straight seasons, Haley Cruse Mitchell had nothing short of an outstanding high school softball career in her hometown of San Diego, California. The former Oregon outfielder started playing softball as a toddler, catching for her sister’s T-ball team. Cruse Mitchell is now an ambassador for USSSA Fastpitch, in addition to her social media career. “I’ve made a strong brand for myself within the softball realm so I definitely want to stay involved with softball in any way I can,” Cruse Mitchell said in an interview with ESPN in 2021. “I think what people like to see is just me being myself, no matter what it is I’m doing-if it’s playing softball or with my boyfriend-just to find joy out of that.

Julie Cavanaugh: A Record-Breaking Career

Julie Cavanaugh, BS ’92 (leisure studies & services), Business Operations Manager, Unreal Digital Group came to the University of Oregon from Salem, Oregon in 1987 to play on the UO softball team. Cavanaugh’s four-season run at UO was a record book standout. She had the highest batting average on the team in both 1990 (.351) and 1991 (.389) and still holds a top ten spot in program history for number of hits (234). Cavanaugh, a two-time All-American, was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame twice-individually in 2006 and again in 2019 with the 1989 softball team for their outstanding season and appearances at the NCAA tournament and Women’s College World Series. When she graduated in 1991, Cavanaugh held single season records in runs scored (44), stolen bases (24), and shared a record in hits (74). As a senior, her batting average, hits, runs, and stolen bases totals led the Pac-10 Conference. After graduation, Cavanaugh moved to Bend and worked as the recreation coordinator for youth and adult programs at Bend Parks and Recreation District for more than seven years.

Bergstrom Cook: Championing Women in Athletics

As a student-athlete, she earned Pac-10 First Team All-Academic honors, as well as the Cooper Tire Leadership Award and Postgraduate Scholarship Award. After graduating with her master’s degree and a stint at Dartmouth College, she returned to Eugene in 2006 to work for the UO. For more than eight years, she served in several roles-academic advisor to student athletes, special assistant to senior athletics administrators, director of operations for women’s basketball, and assistant director of the Duck Athletic Fund. In her role with the Duck Athletic Fund, Bergstrom Cook launched the Women in Flight initiative, which seeks to raise awareness and financial support to achieve and maintain excellence across all Oregon women’s programs. Since Women in Flight’s inception, nearly 1,920 female student-athletes have benefitted from the program. The program raised more than $15 million in its recent “Go Do Anything” campaign. “The success of Women in Flight reflects the passion in the community that supports University of Oregon athletics. As the first director of the program, it’s been exhilarating to see the original goals of the program realized, and then to see Callie [Wagner Kaminskas] and Lexi [Cross Smith] dream up and execute even bigger goals,” Cook told GoDucks.com. Today, Cook serves as the executive director of the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association, a role she has held since 2014.

A Broader Look at Oregon Athletics

Oregon’s history of intercollegiate competition started with a baseball game against Monmouth College in 1877. Since then, Oregon Athletics has evolved to 14 teams in state-of-the-art facilities, including accomplished men’s baseball and women’s softball teams. The baseball program was formally established in 1885 with the Ducks playing at Howe Field south of McArthur Court. After the 1981 season, baseball was dropped due to budget, and baseball became a club sport in March 1983. It wasn’t until 2009 that Oregon would have a varsity team again, with games played at PK Park.

Tyler Anderson: From Oregon Duck to MLB All-Star

Tyler Anderson, BS ’12 (political science) Pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels came to the University of Oregon in 2008, joining the Ducks’ first baseball team since the program was discontinued in 1981. He experienced great success at the UO and to this day, holds Oregon’s all-time records for career, single-season, and single-game strikeouts. His three years with the Ducks prepared Anderson for the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, where he was selected in the first round by the Colorado Rockies. After several years in the minor leagues, he was added to the Rockies’ 40-man roster in 2014. However, a stress fracture meant it’d be nearly two more years until Anderson would make his MLB debut. After stints with the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers, he signed a three-year deal last fall with the Los Angeles Angels, where he is now one of the starting pitchers. This new deal allows Anderson to stay on the West Coast, close to his family in Arizona, including his three kids. “For me, a chance to come here for a few years [is a chance to] have some security for my family,” Anderson said in his Angels introductory Zoom call. “But really, to be a part of a team that I think is going to be really good. I think we have a lot of good players.” Last year, Anderson was named to the National League All-Star team. He said that twenty years into competitive baseball, he’s always looking to challenge and push himself to continue growing. “It’s that wipeout mentality in karate that there’s always somebody you can learn from,” Anderson said in an interview with the Mighty Oregon Podcast. “There’s always something you can learn. There are always ways to get better, whatever that is. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first day of high school, your first day in college, your tenth year in the big leagues-I’m sure guys are, you know, continuing to learn all the time.

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Don Reynolds: A Two-Sport Standout

Don Reynolds, BS ’75 (psychology) Scout, Don Reynolds Baseball Group was one of the nation’s top two-sport athletes when he was recruited to the University of Oregon in the mid-1970s. Reynolds, who grew up in Corvallis, paced Oregon football in rushing for three straight seasons.

Ray Smith: From Oregon to the Pros

Ray Smith, BS ’76 (leisure studies and services)Former manager for the Elizabethton, Tennessee Twins During the 1975 and 1976 seasons, Ray Smith was a top hitter for the Ducks. He led the team in homeruns and bases held during both seasons, and carried the highest batting average in 1976. After graduation, Smith built upon his momentum at Oregon, creating a career in professional baseball spanning more than four decades-first as a player and then a manager and coach. He was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in 1977 and after climbing the ladder in the Twins’ system for several years, made his MLB debut in 1981. For the next three seasons, he played catcher for the pro team and appeared in 83 games, before spending brief stints with the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics organizations. In 1987, Smith began a new career with the Twins organization at their rookie-level Elizabethton, Tennessee Twins team. There he’d spend 33 seasons, 26 of them as manager, teaching and raising up the next generations of pro baseball hopefuls. In addition to this role, he worked as an associate athletic director and baseball coach for Milligan College. “I always tried to have a positive attitude, because guys are young and trying to figure things out,” Smith said in a story published by the Minnesota-based Star Tribune. “Whatever skills they were blessed with, I tried to teach them how to keep improving, offensively, defensively, running the bases. And being good men in the community, because there’s more to it than baseball.” The Appalachian League, which the Elizabethton Twins belonged to, was dropped by MLB as an affiliated league in 2020 and brought the end of Smith’s tenure with the team.

Oregon's 1954 College World Series Run

Led by the legendary Coach Don Kirsch, BS ’43 (physical education), the Ducks made their first, and to date, only trip to the College World Series in 1954. The 1954 Oregon baseball team was inducted into the Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

The University's Foundation: A Brief History

Enthusiasm during the mid-nineteenth century was so significant that two proposals emerged almost simultaneously at the Oregon Constitutional Convention of 1857, resulting in the creation of these two institutions. The first plan called for the creation of an industrial university of Oregon, which was to combine scientific research with extension activities focused on agriculture. Two towns, Marysville and Jacksonville, were considered but deemed inadequate. Consequently, the early state legislature passed a law that there would be no further relocation of the university during that session. Additionally, members expressed concerns about the accuracy of the estimated growth rate in Oregon's sparsely populated territory, suggesting that the timeline might be incorrectly anticipated.

Thus, at the 1857 convention, members opted to set aside further decision making and instead create a provision for the accumulation of funds until there was enough for a suitable endowment. In addition, Congress was asked for two additional townships of land, an act identical to 1862’s Morris Land Grant Bill, a federal act that granted Oregon 90,000 acres of land. In 1868, Methodist Church South at Corvallis (now OSU) became the site of a federal land-grant institution. During the mid-1800s all of Oregon’s colleges were denominational: Willamette University (Salem); Pacific University (Forest Grove); McMinnville College and Christian College (Monmoth); Methodist College (Corvallis); Philomath College (Philomath); and Albany College (Albany).

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University

In 1872, when the legislature began reinvestigating a university location to award the state endowment funds, a group of citizens from Eugene organized forces to campaign for a university in Eugene that would be non-denominational and unaffiliated with any religion or church in Oregon) This group officially formed the Union University Association (UUA) and established a board of directors. They led a strong Lane County delegation campaign at the September 1872 legislature meeting in Salem and a bill was passed to allow the UUA to purchase a site and erect a building worth $50,000. The bill forbade the enactment of any sectarian religious tests for students or faculty.

The Struggle to Build University Hall

In exchange for locating the university in Eugene, the legislation mandated that the property be prepared by January 1, 1874. To fund the state university, the legislature approved a $30,000 bond issue in Lane County, with an additional $20,000 to be raised through private subscriptions. However, in the spring of 1873, several affluent taxpayers objected to the county voting bonds for this purpose. Consequently, the UAA opted to secure the entire $50,000 required for construction of buildings through subscriptions. The campaign moved along well at first, with 140 subscriptions totaling $15,000, but the drive began to lag. The early citizens decided to intensify their fundraising by holding various programs including a Fourth of July ball, a strawberry festival, and women’s socials. In total, the citizens of Eugene raised nearly $20,000 for the construction of the university’s first building, now known as University Hall.

Despite not having raised the full amount, construction on the first building began out of desperation on May 7, 1873. Brickwork commenced by June and progressed smoothly throughout the summer. However, when winter arrived and resources were depleted, construction came to a halt. Sufficient funds had been raised to install a temporary roof, which shielded the half-finished structure during the rainy months of 1873-1874. Nonetheless, for two years, the unfinished building stood as a hollow shell, requiring significant additional work to accommodate professors and students.

The UAA anticipated that the legislature would provide the funding required to complete the building, given that Eugene had upheld its end of the agreement. However, in 1874, lawmakers rejected the request. Consequently, Eugene citizens found themselves in another financial crisis and launched a new campaign to rescue the University. Given that the initial $20,000 had been successfully raised in Eugene, it was determined to extend the fundraising effort to the whole of Lane County. However, the financial downturn of the Panic of 1873 made fundraising extremely difficult, and in many cases, impossible. Numerous farmers simply could not afford to donate money to the cause, resulting in only a meager amount being raised.

During this time, Judge Walton, a lawyer serving on the board of directors for the UAA, and Mr. Hendricks, the founder of First National Bank, emerged as the driving force behind a new campaign. Hendricks managed financial affairs, while Walton coordinated the fieldwork, canvassing the City of Eugene for subscriptions. Eventually, they succeeded in capturing the attention of the County Council of Grangers, whose members agreed to contribute an allocated number of wheat bushels to the cause. Walton was familiar with this approach, having already accepted various forms of payment during his tours of the countryside, including cows, sheep, chickens, apples and hops. He would then sell these items to local stores in exchange for funds, which were utilized to pay the carpenters and cover other construction expenses. Even young schoolchildren contributed to the effort, pooling their savings of one thousand dollars.

Despite extensive canvassing and numerous donations, additional fundraising needs remained unmet. It wasn’t until 1876 that W.J.J. Scott and J.E. Hold stepped in to underwrite the final $5,000. Finally, in the summer of 1876, the UO’s first building was finished. On July 20, 1876, the Board of Commissioners for the State of Oregon formally accepted the building, officially establishing the University of Oregon in Eugene City. Doors opened to the first students on October 16, 1876.

The original building of the University of Oregon was commonly known as “The Building” among early students and faculty, though it was also informally referred to as Deady Hall, in honor of Matthew Deady, an Oregon politician and the inaugural President of the University of Oregon Board of Regents. Following the construction of Villard Hall in 1886, the original building was sometimes called “the Old Building,” and it wasn’t until 1926, during the fiftieth anniversary of its construction, that the university officially designated it as Deady Hall. In June 2020, the UO Board of Trustees unanimously decided to remove the name Deady Hall, citing Deady’s support of slavery and his advocacy for limiting voting rights to white citizens, among other issues. Since then, the building has been known as University Hall.

Financial difficulties persisted after University Hall was completed. Liens on the building given to mechanics and contractors came due in 1881 and 1882, with the university was unable to meet the payments. At this time, Henry Villard, builder of the Northern Pacific Railway, visited the university and was impressed with its possibilities. He personally provided the remaining funds (estimated to be $7,000) to pay the workmen and later added $50,000 in bonds as the first university endowment fund for professors, equipment, scholarships, and construction of the second building on campus. In recognition, this second building was named Villard Hall in his honor.

Original Acquisition of University Land

The piece of Eugene land chosen by the UUA was donated by J.H.D. Henderson, former president of the short-lived and ill-fated Columbia College in Eugene City, who offered 17 ¾ acres.

Acquisition of Additional Land

The next major push for development of the university occurred in 1922 when President Campbell began a large campaign to raise funds to establish new buildings across campus.

University Architecture

Ellis F. Lawrence played a pivotal role in shaping the architectural landscape of the University of Oregon from 1915 until his death in 1946. He not only founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1915 (later renamed the School of Architecture and Allied Arts) but also spearheaded the architectural planning of the campus. Lawrence’s influence extended to dozens of buildings on campus, as well as several general campus plans. With a deep commitment to comprehensive city and campus planning, Lawrence left an indelible mark on the university’s architecture. Among his notable designs are the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA), the original 1937 library and numerous other buildings. He created fifteen line etchings detailing the progress of the 1936 construction of what is now the Knight Library at the University of Oregon.

Conclusion

The University of Oregon softball program has a long and storied history, marked by milestones, dedicated athletes, and unwavering support from the community. From its early days with limited resources to its current status as a competitive force in the Big Ten Conference, Oregon softball continues to inspire and create a legacy of excellence. The contributions of its alumni, both on and off the field, demonstrate the lasting impact of the program and its commitment to developing well-rounded individuals who make a difference in the world.

Further Exploration

For those interested in delving deeper into the history of the University of Oregon, the following resources are available:

University History Resource Books

Henry D. Sheldon, History of the University of Oregon, Portland: Binford & Mort Publishers, 1940.
Jeffrey Jane Flowers, ed., Pioneers, Scholars, and Rogues: A Spirited History of the University of Oregon, Eugene: University of Oregon Press, 2002.
Inez Long Fortt, Early Days at the University of Oregon, Eugene: A.K. Briggs Co., 1976.

Department Histories

School of Journalism: 100 Year History Project and Timeline

Graduation History

Paths of Life: How modern graduation compare to 19th century commencement ceremonies
A brief history of UO Commencement ceremonies

Student Life and Lore

Student Publications
Student Protests
The History and Background of the "O" Symbol
The Origin of Greek Life at the University of Oregon
Filming Animal House on UO Campus (1977)
Debate Clubs (Laurean and Eutaxian Societies)
EMU (Student Union)

Athletics

Leadership and Legacy (Online Exhibit)
Women's Basketball
Tall Firs and Oregon's First National Championship
Women's Track and Field
Men's Track and Field Uniforms
Origins of Oregon Football
Oregon vs. Oregon State
Rose Bowl History
Bill Bowerman's 1956 Olympics Journal
Sub 4 Reunion: UO Men's Track and Field
History of the Duck Mascot (Part 1 and Part 2)
History of Softball (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

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