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Unearthing the Forgotten Diamonds: The Untold Story of the Owls Club

March 5, 2026

In 1938, the Owls Club, an all-Black women's softball team from Seattle, Washington, achieved historic success by winning the first Black women's professional softball championship, then repeated their victory in 1939 under the new name Brown Bombers. Despite dominating the local sports scene and drawing large crowds across Seattle's Black communities, the team mysteriously disbanded around 1940 and faded from public memory for nearly nine decades. Historian Stephanie Johnson-Toliver and the Black Heritage Society of Washington State have been working to uncover the stories of these remarkable athletes, discovering that some players like Alice Powell went on to notable lives, while World War II likely contributed to the team's dissolution.

Who is affected

  • The Owls Club/Brown Bombers team members: Lillian Brown, Regiena (Twaites) Brown, Mary (Yarbra) Turner, Melvina Freeman, Harriett (Bruce) Booker, Alice (Powell) Tanner, Mary (Porter) Tanner, Elizabeth "Dolly" (Martin) Smith, Evelyn Williamson, Roberta (Johnson) Fair, and Ina Miller
  • Descendants and family members of the players, including Richard Powell (Alice Powell's nephew), Cherron Papillion (Richard Powell's cousin), and Charlotte Wingo (Elizabeth Martin's niece)
  • Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State
  • Seattle's Black communities who followed the team in the 1930s
  • The Seattle Black Genealogy Group
  • The Black Heritage Society of Washington State

What action is being taken

  • No explicit ongoing actions are described in the article. The research efforts and discoveries mentioned are presented in past tense as completed activities.

Why it matters

  • This story matters because it recovers the lost history of pioneering Black female athletes who broke barriers in the 1930s but were forgotten due to systemic erasure of Black women's contributions to sports. The Owls Club represented excellence and community pride during an era of severe racial segregation, when Black women athletes couldn't join white teams and faced discrimination even in victory (such as having to change banquet locations for safety). Preserving their legacy honors these trailblazers, provides representation and inspiration, and demonstrates the importance of documenting marginalized communities' histories before they disappear entirely. Their story also illustrates broader themes of racial injustice, resilience, and the ongoing work required to ensure forgotten heroes receive proper recognition.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint

Unearthing the Forgotten Diamonds: The Untold Story of the Owls Club