Ron Taylor finally enters softball hall of fame

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This article was published 20/03/2024 (614 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 induction class, which will be honoured at the Victoria Inn on May 11. The class includes player and coach Fran Giesbrecht in the all-around category, and Steve Mymko, the driving force behind the development of the Buhler Recreation Park in Transcona, as a builder.

Athletes to be honoured are Kevin Bartley, who primarily played for the Minto Mustangs; Glenella’s Shelly Bohn, of the Bison Blondes senior slo-pitch team; Nathan Giesbrecht, who played for several junior and senior teams and was named to Canada’s national player pool from 1997 to 1999; and Mandy Greenberg, who started playing in the Maples area, and pitched junior for the Angels and senior for Smitty’s Terminators.

Recognized posthumously is West End product Ron Taylor, who died in 2019. In the opinion of this columnist — who was the first president of the provincial softball hall, but never a member of the selection committee — Taylor’s induction is long overdue. He was an excellent left-handed batter and, blessed with speed and a strong arm, he also was outstanding defensively in the outfield. You could argue he was the best male centrefielder in our province’s softball history.

Taylor first played in the Winnipeg Industrial League with Elmwood Legion, but quickly moved into senior A ranks with the Molson Canadians, who won our province’s only Canadian men’s fast pitch championship in 1967 and finished second in the ISF World Championship in Oklahoma City the following year.

Taylor then played for the provincial senior champion Black Knights. When the Knights became the Winnipeg Colonels and joined the Western Major Fastball League in 1973, he was the regular centrefielder and lead-off hitter in the team’s championship season.

Taylor also played in the WMFL with the Edmonton Monarchs and the Brandon Westman Merchants.

Taylor was a member of the 1984-1987 Manitoba men’s masters fast pitch teams that were inducted into the HOF in 2013. In 1986, when the team won gold at the Western Canada championship, he led the tournament in hitting with a .500 average. Once slo-pitch became the dominant version of softball, Taylor played for the Downtown Dolls in the Winnipeg Men’s Slo-Pitch League and later the 55-plus Morse Place Flashbacks.

In the team category, the 1974 and 1975 St. Vital Flocking Ducks and the 1979 and 1980 Westman Merchants senior men and the 1997 and 1998 Smitty’s Terminators junior women will be inducted.

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Barry Hobday and Jim Feasby were recognized for their contributions to ringette on March 2 at the Hockey for All Centre, where Ringette Manitoba was holding its provincial championships.

Hobday was a 2022 Ringette Canada Hall of Fame inductee as a coach, while Feasby was a 2023 Ringette Manitoba Hall of Fame inductee in the builder category.

In his Ringette Canada biography, Hobday is described as a person who dedicated almost 40 years to coaching in Manitoba and made incredible contributions to the lives of many young athletes. He earned coach of the year awards while leading teams that won medals from local to national levels. The Eastman district of our province had a strong ringette program as a result of Hobday’s efforts, which included founding a Tween AA program. He was inducted into the Ringette Manitoba HOF as a builder in 2007-08.

Feasby devoted more than a quarter-century to the sport in various coaching and administrative roles. His involvement included organizing a high school tournament in 2003, serving as president of the Sixers AA Association in 2006, and playing key roles at the 2011 Canada Winter Games and the 2014 Manitoba Winter Games. He also was involved in the formation of the Open Elite League for adult players.

Tara Gilkes and Tracy Clegg were named 2023 Ringette Manitoba volunteers of the year at the same March 2 event. The pair co-chaired the 2023 Western Canadian Championships, which were held in Manitoba. Lynette Penner, a Level 2 certified coach and head coach of the U16 AA Eastman Flames, was honoured as the 2023 coach of the year.