Unearthing the forgotten diamonds: The untold story of the Owls Club
Eleven members of the Owls pose for a team photo. A handwritten slip with the photograph identifies the players as
(CNN) — In 1938, the Owls Club, a group of talented Black women in Seattle, Washington, won the first-ever Black women’s professional softball championship.
The next year, behind left-handed pitcher Lillian Brown’s dominant performance — where she struck out 12 Manette batters — the team, then renamed the Brown Bombers, won the championship again.
But by 1940, the team seemed to have disbanded.
Champions. Trailblazers. Forgotten.
What happened to the women who made national headlines and then disappeared with time? How is it that it’s taken nearly 90 years for their story to resurface?
That question led CNN Sports to Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State.
Stephanie’s passion for The Owls Club was electric. She wanted the world to know about these remarkable women who once dominated the local sports scene, drawing crowds and admiration across Seattle’s Black communities.
“Those fabulous young women were the talk of the town and community as some of the best softball players of the mid-late 1930s,” Johnson-Toliver said.
Who played on the Owls Club?
The Owls Club consisted of Lillian Brown, catcher Regiena (Twaites) Brown, first baseman Mary (Yarbra) Turner, second baseman Melvina Freeman, third baseman and pitcher Harriett (Bruce) Booker, shortstop Alice (Powell) Tanner, right fielder Mary (Porter) Tanner, left fielder Elizabeth “Dolly” (Martin) Smith, center fielder Evelyn Williamson, and subs Roberta (Johnson) Fair and Ina Miller.
Johnson-Toliver adds that the Owls played against all teams that consisted of Black and White players.
‘Play ball!’
Fans could come out to watch the Owls play at Sick’s Stadium, which is now a Lowe’s on Rainier Avenue in Seattle.
According to a May 6, 1938, article in The Northwest Enterprise, the Owls debuted with a 1-0 win over Quesmar AC in an exhibition game.
Al Smith, in his article, described fans taking to the Owls players “from the minute they went on the field to the minute they left.”
Behind home plate in their exhibition game was Twaites, who Smith said was “a very good catcher” and that “while warming up for the game, caught for two of the boys’ team pitchers, who remarked at Miss Twaites’ catching abilities.”
The team went on to win its first state championship, defeating Manette 21-1 on August 28, a Sunday; the game was called in the fifth inning.
Lillian Brown struck out 12 batters on the Manette team, according to a September 2, 1938, Northwest Enterprise article.
The Owls stormed out of the gate, scoring five runs in the first inning. In the fourth, they tacked on four more runs, highlighted by a home run from Lillian Brown. The fifth inning proved explosive: 16 Owls came to the plate, resulting in 11 runs.
Brown was dominant on the mound, limiting Manette to just three hits, while the Owls racked up 18. Martin stood out at the plate, going four-for-four.
With the Owls leading 21–1 in the fifth inning, the game was called early; Manette’s only run came in the third.
The Owls were awarded a striking 30-inch trophy and small gold baseballs to commemorate their victory.
In 1939, the team — now called the Brown Bombers, though it’s unclear why it changed its name — worked to defend its title.
In a September 1, 1939, article, the Bombers claimed their second consecutive state championship on August 27, 1939, behind the pitching of Lillian Brown, who defeated the Manette girls’ team 11-3.
The last article mentioning the softball team was published on September 27, 1939, when a dance was held in the team’s honor.
What happened to the players?
Yet, for all their success, little is known about the players since their second straight title.
According to Alice Powell’s nephew, Richard Powell, his cousin Cherron Papillion had written about their aunt Alice, which they shared with CNN Sports.
Papillion shared that Alice moved to Seattle at age 12.
After graduating from high school, Alice was determined to play softball. In the 1930s, unable to join any white teams, she and her best friend organized their own team—The Owls Club—the state’s first all-Black women’s softball team, according to Papillion.
Johnson-Toliver said that, with the help of the Seattle Black Genealogy Group, they found that the girls appear in the 1930s-1950s census, but the trail goes cold from there.
However, according to Johnson-Toliver, Alice Powell married Jack Tanner, the first Black American to serve as a federal district court judge in the Pacific Northwest, and was nominated by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
Charlotte Wingo shared with CNN Sports that her aunt, Elizabeth Martin—nicknamed Dolly since childhood—was likely 18 when the photos of the team were taken by Al Smith.
After her softball days, Dolly moved to San Francisco and worked as a secretary on Angel Island, a place with its own storied history.
As for why the team disbanded, Wingo said there is no definite explanation, but she suspects World War II played a role. “I believe Washington State’s role in World War II was ramping up around 1940, so that may have played a part,” she said. “I do know that my aunt worked at the Todd Shipyard during the early war years.”
Wingo added that the Owls were a traveling team that played a championship game in Portland, Oregon.
Afterward, a banquet was planned for them, but the location had to be changed because the team could not safely attend or remain in the area – a detail Wingo said she only recently learned.
Seattle Black sports history
Seattle has deep roots in Black baseball and softball. Those ties are now honored at Steelheads Alley, a brewery and museum space across from T-Mobile Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, Johnson-Toliver said.
Operated by a Black-owned brewer in partnership with the Mariners, Steelheads Alley houses a Memory Wall – a powerful tribute that includes images of The Owls Club, preserving its place in Seattle sports history.
The Owls’ manager, Bruce Rowell, was also a co-owner of the Seattle Steelheads, a Negro League baseball team that played for just one season.
Surprise family connection
For Johnson-Toliver, the Owls Club has a personal connection. Her Aunt June married into one of Seattle’s pioneering Black families, the Whites. After June passed, her brother-in-law revealed that his sister Betty — now also gone — had played for The Owls Club.
“I hope to confirm this family story someday,” Johnson-Toliver said, her voice carrying both wonder and resolve. “It’s a rabbit hole that has us all wanting to find descendant members of the team. You’ve fueled our fire.”
And maybe that’s what softball — and sports, really — has always been about: connection, rediscovery, and the stories we keep alive.
Every base, every inning, and every name remembered is another step towards honoring those who made the game possible.
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