BB/SAA discontinued their Jack-n-Jill league, so the Dreadsox moved to the regular Co-rec Sunday only league, division 2. Dreadsox players recruited heavily during the offseason in an attempt to ensure that they would have enough people to field full teams every game. The recruiting didn’t work very well, as the first three games were played with the minimun 8 players. Practically every game day was spent scrounging for enough people to play, causing team manager Jay Matsudaira to consider making 1997 the final Dreadsox season.

Late season recruiting brought some new faces to the Dreadsox roster, including “H.R. Puff’n” Steff Zabriskie and Cindy “Helmet” Louie. Cindy earned her nickname due to her uncanny capacity of attracting head trauma. 1997 was no exception, as a ball bonked her in the face while she played catcher, breaking her nose. I don’t have very accurate records from the 1997 season, but I think the Dreadsox went 1-9 in the summer season. Because of the frustration caused by the difficulty we experienced in fielding enough players for games during the summer season, we decided to take the fall season off. It was uncertain as to whether or not the Dreads would ever return for another season.