In 1976, some of the media teams branched out and formed their own league and they called it the New York Press League.

The New York Press League was a Central Park tradition spanning decades as writers, editors alike took to a familiar patch of grass in Central Park for a game of softball. But it wasn't just any game of softball. Different Broadway shows, compete on the in the afternoons with famous people that, you know, people like George C. Scott and Woody Allen and Al Pacino.

The New York Press League was a Central Park tradition spanning decades as writers, editors alike took to a familiar patch of grass in Central Park for a game of softball. But it wasn't just any game of softball. Different Broadway shows, compete on the in the afternoons with famous people that, you know, people like George C. Scott and Woody Allen and Al Pacino.

Read the full transcript below:

Madelyn Burke: The New York Press League was a Central Park tradition spanning decades as writers, editors alike took to a familiar patch of grass in Central Park for a game of softball. But it wasn't just any game of softball. Joining me now is John Walters, who wrote an incredible story on this. First of all, John, tell me about the press league and how it started.

John Walters: The press league started out of the show league, the broadway show league, which had been around since 1955. Different Broadway shows, compete on the in the afternoons with famous people that, you know, people like George C. Scott and Woody Allen and Al Pacino. The Show League expanded to allow media teams and even restaurants to compete. This wasn't just like a post-work softball game, coeds. The people took it very seriously. And so in the mid-70s, in 1976, some of the media teams branched out and formed their own league and they called it the New York Press League.

Madelyn Burke: Now, I know that there are some familiar names in there as well. SI's own Stephanie Apstein has mentioned in this story as a regular spectator and also kind of a ringer herself. What was the story there?

John Walters: Well, Stephanie actually is one of the latecomers in the league, and she used to love to go. I mean, the league ended in 2018, which is why I used the past tense. But Stephanie would go and keep score. She was sort of SI's number one fan over the last decade. And during the London Olympics in 2012, too many staffers were out of the country and they needed someone to come in. They were basically short on bodies, so Stephanie was coaxed to put down the scorecard, scorebook and come in and play catcher. That did not go very well for Stephanie. She admitted that she had trouble just getting the ball back to the pitcher's mound. And after that one game, she never wore sneakers to a softball game again. She wore sandals so that she could not be recruited to play.

Madelyn Burke: Now, you mentioned people take this very seriously and also you mentioned the past tense of it. 2018 was the last year. What caused the conclusion of this league?

John Walters: Well, that's that's part of the whole gist of the story, is that the softball league, which began in 1976 and ended in 2018, mirrored sports journalism. For example, in 1976, there were always six teams in the league. In 1976, The New York Times had two teams. But as sports journalism became less robust over the decades due to the Internet, due to a staff shortage of lay-offs, a lot of different reasons. The league itself started to dwindle. By the end, the New York Times not only had just one team, but most of the players on the New York Times team had never worked for The New York Times. They were we called ringers. So the league eventually just sort of died out. I wouldn't say due to apathy, but due to a lot of reasons that are the same reasons that a lot of media companies are having trouble staying alive right now.

Madelyn Burke: The evolution of the business, of course, reflected in the evolution of this sport and this league. John Walters, thanks so much for the insight on this story.

John Walters: Thanks for having me, Madelyn.