Abbott Laboratories, formerly Faultless Rubber Company, has been a softball sponsor since 1941 when its men’s team was a semi-finalist in the Ohio state tournament. In 1959, however, Faultless started to move up the Major fast pitch ladder when it fielded a men’s team to compete in the Big 8 League. After a couple seasons in the Big 8 League, Abbott, then Faultless Rubber, joined the Ohio Fastball League and won three of five championships. Teams from Columbus, Marion, Hamilton, and Dayton joined the nucleus of the former Big 8 League to form the Ohio Fastball league. The league eventually split into two divisions, Northern and Southern. Ashland won its first state championship in 1964 and competed in its first East Central Region. In 1966, Ashland competed in its first of three consecutive ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championships and finished third. It finished 10th in 1967 and fourth in 1968.Ashland’s combined record those years was 8-6 with 12 players named ASA All-American. After a 13-year lapse, Faultless returned to the ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship in 1981 at St. Joseph, MO and finished second behind Decatur ADM. The second place finish was the best in the team’s history. Ashland continued to compete in the Men’s Major Nationals and 1996 marked the 15th consecutive year Ashland advanced to the nationals with finishes ranging from 33th in 1987 to third in 1995.
