Session Two Special Events at 2026 Worlds Highlight the Longevity of Playing Softball

Sept. 1, 2026

The 90s Division as a whole, was awarded the 2026 Sportsmanship Award. Team managers, Dick Anderson (left, East team) and Red Simmons (right, West team) accept the awards. Photo by Clover Schultz.

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

When the elder statesmen of senior softball arrived for Session Two of the SSUSA World Championships, they proved just how many decades that dedicated athletes can continue to enjoy the game.

The two oldest players were born in 1929, the year the Great Depression began with Herbert Hoover occupying the White House. Yes, they turn 97 this year.

The youngest players were born in 1961, eight years before a human stepped foot on the moon. John F. Kennedy was president. They turn 65 this year.

“The oldest teams playing also made up the largest of the four sessions of the World Championships,” said Terry Hennessy, Senior Softball USA’s chief executive officer.  “We were blown away by the inspiring 90s game, the six Hall of Fame inductions, and the growth of the 80+ and 85+ division, with 23 teams.”

Hall of Fame inductions and the annual 90s game both took place on opening day, Sept. 21, of the four-day session.

Hall of Fame inductees, presenters, SSUSA staff and audience watch the National and Senior Softball USA Hall of Fame inductions at Big League Dreams, Las Vegas. Photo by Clover Schultz.

Two Pioneer players, James Sims, 87, of Houston Texas and Ronnie Guest,88, of Sun City, Arizona, were inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame.

Three people and the Scrap Iron Softball Club were inducted into the Senior Softball USA National Hall of Fame.

John Parisi (right), President of the Scrap Iron Senior Softball Club, accepting the assocation's Senior Softball USA Hall of Fame aware, presented by SSUSA CEO, Terry Hennessy. Photo by Clover Schultz.

Steve Hillman of Santa Rosa, California was inducted as a player, Peter Takos, 81, of Naples, Florida was inducted as a Sponsor and Mark Jackson of Polk County, Florida was inducted for Lifetime Achievement. Daryl Idler, who was unable to attend the ceremony, was elected in the Player category and will be inducted at a later time.

Steve Hillman (right) of California accepting his Senior Softball USA Hall of Fame Award, presented by SSUSA's CEO, Terry Hennessy. Photo by Clover Schultz.

With smaller brackets than what younger teams usually face, six Session Two teams secured Triple Grand Slam titles during play across the Las Vegas area.

In each case, a team had to win the Eastern or Western national championship before winning the USA National Champion title at Vegas and then winning its World Championship bracket.

World Champions earned trophies, free Josten’s rings and berths to the 2027 Tournament of Champions in Polk County, Fla. Triple Grand Slam champions also received free shoes.

The manager registration reception gave session two managers a chance to check their rosters and offered sessoin two players a chance to see the newest senior softball equipment from multiple vendors. Photo by Clover Schultz.

Results:

Fifth-annual 90s game: West 18, East 6. Players and fans alike cherished the special event. For more about the 2026 90s Game, please see the story in the left column. (Photo below. The 90s West team has blue jerseys, and the East team as red).

Photo by Clover Schultz.

Men's 65+ Major Plus: Triple Grand Slam winner Cal Energy 65 of California (photo below) survived a 28-27 scare in its first bracket game by scoring four times in the final inning for a walk-off win over Samuri. Cal Energy’s victory margin grew in each game afterward, capped by a 23-12 championship victory over fourth-seeded Texas Crush Sixty Fives. Texas Crush won three elimination games to reach the finals. Third-seeded TRT of Florida finished third in the eight-team division. Minnesota Merchants 65 took fourth. USA National Championship game: Cal Energy 30, The Bank of Delaware 27.

Men's 65+ Major: Triple Grand Slam winner Dirty Birds 65s of California (photo below) went 7-0 overall, including a 15-6 championship victory over third-seeded Avalanche 65s of Michigan. Four of Dirty Birds’ five bracket victories were by double-digits. Second-seeded Action Auto Parts 65s of Rhode Island took third. Matney Legends of Texas placed fourth in the 18-team division. USA National Championship game: Dirty Birds 30, Action Auto Parks 20.

Men's 65+ AAA: Fourth-seeded Chelu of Oregon (first photo below, pink and blue jerseys) bolted past Albuquerque Asphalt Softball Club (first photo below, red jerseys) in the title game for a 19-4 triumph and 7-0 overall record. Four of Chelu’s bracket wins came by double-digits. Third-seeded Top Gun Stars 65s of California won four elimination games to finish third in the 24-team division. Sixth-seeded Scrap Iron Heavy Metal of Colorado placed fourth. USA National Championship game: Team Riporti (second photo below) of New Jersey 22, SportStan/Islanders of California 15.

Men's 65+ AA: Sixth-seeded Sin City OutKasts of Nevada (photo below) capped a 6-1 tournament with a 15-13 championship victory over Antiques of Iowa City, which rallied with four seventh-inning each before falling short. The Antiques won three elimination games to reach the title bout. Fifth-seeded Ranalls Realty 65 of Arizona placed third in the 11-team division. Third-seeded Bomb City Buzzards of Texas won four elimination games before finishing fourth. USA National Champions: SoCal Riptide (no game).

Men's 70+ Major Plus: Triple Grand Slam champions Hollis Appraisals 70s of Florida (photo below) capped a 6-0 tournament with a 24-18 championship victory over second-seeded NorthWest Stampede of Oregon. R&R 70s of California took third in the three-team division. USA National Championship game: Hollis Appraisals 70s of Florida 29, NorthWest Stampede of Oregon 28. 

Men's 70+ Major: Fourth-seeded Agway Steelers of Ontario, Canada, won bracket games 25-12, 22-21, 25-15, 25-17 and 14-13 to capture the 16-team division. Agway edged 14th-seeded Samurai 70 of California in the title game by holding Samurai to one run in the bottom of the unlimited-run inning after scoring twice in the top of the inning. Top-seeded Cal Energy 70 of California took third. The Minnesota River Bats captured fourth. USA National Championship game: Cal Energy 30 (photo below), Promotion/PHX Tube of New Jersey 17.

Men's 70+ AAA: Top-seeded Triple Grand Slam winner Prime 70s of Illinois (photo below) proved powerful in this 25-team division. Its 7-0 recorded included winning the USA National Championship and going unbeaten in five bracket games, including a 18-5 triumph over the runner-up Dayton Legends in the title game. Dayton, which started as the fourth seed, finished 7-2 overall but was held scoreless in four innings in the title game. Second-seeded Supreme Athletics 70s of Nevada captured third place. Twelfth-seeded East/West Aircraft Pilots of Idaho finished fourth. USA National Championship game: Prime 15, Supreme Athletics of Nevada 9.

Men's 70+ AA: Third-seeded East-West Aircraft Sales 70 of Idaho (photo below, white jerseys) won both of its seeding games and all five of its bracket games, including an 18-14 title triumph over the fifth-seeded Northwest Lightning 70s of Washington (photo below, blue jerseys). East-West gradually built a lead early and went up by nine runs after four innings. Sixth-seeded Los Vatos Viejos 70 II of Arizona captured third place. Scrap Iron Diamonds 70 of Colorado finished fourth in the 20-team division. USA National Champions: Past Our Prime (no game).

Men's 75+ Major Plus: A longtime rivalry ended with a whimper when runner-up Venom 75s of Florida forfeited the championship game to Omen 75 of California (photo below) due to injuries and a sick player. Omen had earned the upper hand by defeating Enviro-Vac Marauders of Ontario, Canada, 15-9 in its first bracket game and by subduing Venom 21-11 in its second bracket game. Animals 75s of California finished third. Enviro-Vac took fourth in the four-team division. USA National Championship game: Venom 19, Omen 18.

Men's 75+ Major: Second-seeded R&R 75s of California (photo below) won two lopsided bracket games and two close bracket games, including a 23-19 championship victory over fifth-seeded Texas Express 75s. That earned R&R the Triple Grand Slam title. Top-seeded Ancient 75s of Arizona nabbed third place. KC Kids 75s of Missouri finished fourth in the nine-team division. USA National Champions: R&R 75s (no game).

Men's 75+ AAA: Fifth-seeded Team Ryan of Washington (photo below) double dipped the 10th-seeded Sidewinders 75s of Arizona 19-16 and 26-21 in the title games after losing by one run to the same team in the winner’s bracket finale. Team Ryan finished 7-1 overall. Eighth-seeded No Guts, No Glory placed third, with a resume that included four inside-the-park grand slams. Third-seeded Warriors 75 of Hawaii nabbed fourth in the 14-team division. USA National Champions: Yogi's Boys 75 of New Jersey (no game).

Men's 75+ AA: The third-seeded Scrap Iron Stampede 75 of Colorado (photo below) started 1-2 in seeding games but owned bracket play, where it went 3-0. Stampede defeated Twin Peaks Desert Heat 75 of Nevada 29-28 in the title game by scoring twice in the bottom of the unlimited-run inning. The top-seeded OKC Outlaws 75s of Oklahoma finished third. Northwest Sage of Washington took fourth in the four-team division.

Men's 80+ Major Plus: Playing a best-of-three format, Omen 80 of California swept defending champion Maverick Construction 80s of Texas 15-12 and 21-19. Omen led the entire second game. As the Western National and USA National champions, the bracket victory also earned Omen the Triple Grand Slam title.

Men's 80+ Major: After an 0-2 start in seeding games, the fourth-seeded Tennessee Thumpers compiled a 5-1 record in bracket play — including 21-4 and 20-11 championship victories over the third-seeded Sidewinders 80s of Arizona. Valley Fog of California finished third. The second-seeded Minnesota Masters 80s finished fourth in the five-team division. USA National Champions: Valley Fog (no game).

Men's 80+ AAA: This seven-team division played a full round robin format, with the San Antonio Legends of Texas coming out on top. The Legends went 5-1, including a 15-12 triumph over runner-up ZIA 80s of New Mexico on the final day. Three teams finished 4-2, with ZIA earning second place under tie-breaker rules. KC Kids/Bale Chevrolet of Missouri took third. Fourth went to 80 Ho'oikaika of Hawaii.

Men's 85+ Major Plus: Playing a best-of-three format, Omen 85 of California subdued defending 85+ Major champion Center For Sight of Florida 20-5 and 20-5. They also met in the the USA National Championship game, which Center For Sight (photo below) won 14-13.

Men's 85+ Gold: These three teams played a round robin to set up a single-elimination bracket. The top-seeded Major team Top Gun Blue Angels 85 of California edged runner-up Team Rehab 85 of Minnesota 21-20 in the championship game. Midwest Driving School Antiques of Kansas finished third. USA National Champions: Top Gun Blue Angels received the 85+ Major title while Team Rehab got the AAA title. Neither had an opponent for a USA game.