Since 2002, the Southern Ohio Copperheads have been a focal point of summer entertainment in Athens, Ohio. For the past 16 seasons and counting, the Copperheads have provided families an opportunity to expose their children to the great American pastime that is baseball.
The inception of the Copperheads can be traced back to the Team USA vs. Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League All-Star Game that took place on July 15th, 2001 at Bob Wren Stadium. Over 1,000 fans came out to enjoy baseball at the Wren in a "test run" to see if a summer baseball team would be viable in Athens. After the success of that game, Ohio University baseball coach Joe Carbone, Dr. Alan Geiger, and Dr. Andrew Kreutzer of the Ohio Sports Management Department believed that Southern Ohio could support a GLSCL team. ?
A steering committee was organized including leaders from the University and from Southeast Ohio's business communities. After three months of planning and with the strong support of Dave Palmer, owner of WATH and WXTQ radio, the GLSCL gave the approval to go ahead with the Southern Ohio baseball team based in Athens. ?
All that was needed was a team name.? The new Board of Directors held a two-week contest throughout all the local elementary schools located in Southeast Ohio to decide what the team name would be.? "Copperheads" beat out "Flying Squirrels" among other choices to become the name of the GLSCL baseball team in Athens. Local artist Tad Gallagher designed the team's logo.?
Over the next few seasons, the Copperheads won over the hearts of the people of Southeast Ohio, combining family-friendly entertainment with multiple playoff appearances and runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2014. ?
The Copperheads are also known for producing MLB Draft picks. The team has dozens of draft picks to their name. The most notable professional player is Adam Russell, who pitched for the 2011 AL Wild-Card Tampa Bay Rays.
