Ken Hairston played softball for twenty-seven years and competed in ‘Major’ softball for fifteen of them. During that time he played for the Wild Bunch, Villains, Flashes, the B Athletes, California Gold and Solutions in the most competitive parks in Chicago and the suburbs. As a shortstop and short center, he had a career batting average over .500 and hit forty-five homeruns and drove in more than six hundred runs. Ken was the MVP of the CCBL Tournament in 1978 and 1982, the 1994 USSSA Majors in 1994, and the 2000 Black American Tournament. Additionally, he was named to the 1982 CCBL All Tournament Team, the 1991 USSSA All Tournament Team, the 1994 USSSA Major World Tournament Team, and the 2000 Black American All-World Tournament Team. In 1995 he was invited by the ASA to play on the Pan Am Team. In 2011 Ken and Solutions defeated the Bombers to capture the ASA “A” National Championship. They were the Black National Champions in 2009, ’10, ’11, and ’12. Throughout his twenty-seven year playing career, Ken always played at a high level and always displayed good sportsmanship. He is well known and is respected throughout the softball community. Ken and his wife, Johnnie, live in Jonesboro, Georgia where he now plays twelve-inch softball. Ken and Johnnie have a son, Mike.
