Andrew (Bay Bay) Patterson was looking for a deterrent for the young men living in the Rockwell Gardens Housing community. In 1984, he decided to build a 16inch softball team. In collaboration with existing teams, 340 Invaders and Altgeld Invaders, created a team called California Gold.
California Gold played competitively throughout the local park district leagues and competed in the championship of the USSSA in La Crosse, WI in 1992. For reasons unforeseen, California Gold dismantled in 1996. Two years later two teammates from California Gold, Gary (Bay)Johns and Donald (Woo)Toney decided to form their own team, named Steel Gold.
In 1998, Steel Gold began playing in neighborhood leagues and tournaments in Smith Park, Garfield Park & Washington Park. In 1999, Steel Gold defeated the Patio Players for the first Annual Claude Rhodes Tournament championship in Washington Park. During their time as a team, they won the Washington Park Nite-Life League several times and they dominated the Garfield Park league, winning ten championships.
In 2000, Steel Gold began playing major level softball, competing in Tournaments of Champions, North South Tournament, Chicagoland Classic and the biggest of them all, the NGN Tournament.
In 2003 they won the Class “A“, ASA State Championship in, Jolliet Illinois and the 2003 Hall of Fame Tournament Championship in Grant Park.
2005 came with many qualifying tournament wins in Alsip, Illinois; Mt. Prospect, Illinois; and Chicago Illinois. But the best accomplishment of all was winning the Class “A” ASA National Championship in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Being the first African American team in history to do so.