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David Braunstein
Athlete Category | David Braunstein pitched for the Argyles in the 1920's and then was the playing coach for YMHA in the 1930's. With his consistent line drive hitting, he led the YMHA to five Winnipeg Senior Diamond Ball League Championships and two Provincial Championships from 1932 to 1937. For his outstanding performance, David was selected as the Diamond Ball League’s MVP in 1932, 1933 and 1934. In 2007, Braunstein was inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1932-37 Y.M.H.A. Senior Men's Diamond Ball team. He passed away in 1982. |
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Shirley Brown
Athlete Category | Shirley Brown roamed centerfield for sixteen years. She thrilled the fans with her outstanding defensive plays because of her speed and her ball hawk abilities. She started playing Intermediate ball with IPAC (1951-52), moving up to Senior ball with the Ramblers (1953-58) and then joining the West Kildonan Tigerettes (1959-67). Because of her outstanding play, Shirley was named to the 1st All-Star team in1956, 1957 and again from 1961-65. Shirley was chosen as the second team all-star outfielder in 1960. In 1963, Shirley was awarded the All-Around Outfielder award. |
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Audrey (Freeman) Henderson
Athlete Category | Born in1925, Audrey Henderson joined the St. Vital Tigerettes at the age of 16 in 1941. During the next 11 years, the Tigerettes won two intermediate provincials and seven Senior Girls provincials. Henderson missed two seasons when she served in the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Navy. Henderson captured the Senior Girls Batting Title in 1947 and again in 1950. She was also named the 1st All-Star left fielder in 1947 and 1950, and gained 2nd Team recognition in 1949 and 1951. A dangerous hitter, always batting in the middle of the line-up, Henderson was also a skilled infielder and pitcher. She declined an invitation to travel to the USA to play ladies professional baseball in the 1940's. Henderson passed away in 1988. |
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Irene Lesczczynski
Athlete Category | Irene Lesczczynski (Les) began her Intermediate ball playing with IPAC. In 1953, she joined the Senior Ramblers and continued to play with the Ramblers throughout the 1958 season. She served as the Ramblers captain during that time, described as "a ball of fire" at shortstop. Hal Sigurdson noted in 1953 that during Irene's first years in Senior “she was not only the best fielding shortstop in the league but she was also the hardest hitter.” Because of her outstanding offensive and defensive skills, she was selected as the 1st team All-Star Shortstop in 1953-1954 and again in 1958. She passed away in 1999. |
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Dr. Charles Rusen
Athlete Category | As a 16 year old pitcher, Chas. Rusen joined the elite softball league in Winnipeg in 1932. A member of the YMHA Senior Men’s Diamond Ball Team from 1932 to 1939, his pitching prowess is noted in many newspaper clippings and articles in the library archives. With a tandum of strong pitchers, YMHA won the Diamond Ball League Championship five out of six years between 1932 and 1937, capturing both the league and provincial titles in 1934. Feats of Dr. Rusen's "tooth pulling arm" earned him the Tobias - Picard Trophy, emblematic of being voted the Most Valuable Player of the Winnipeg Senior Diamond Ball League in 1938. With a knack for winning the "big games", his pitching career was interrupted by a four year stint as an Army Dentist from 1942-1945. Dr. Rusen retired as a player/coach with Northern Hotel in 1951 and passed away in 2004. |
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Ron Toews
Athlete Category | If you examine his record, it is clear that Ron Toews was an outstanding player on championship teams throughout his entire career, always playing at the Senior ‘A’ level with numerous appearances at Canadian Championships. Toews played fast pitch for the Black Knights in three of the four years (1969-1972) that the team won the Provincial Senior A Championship. He captured the home run title in 1970. A feared power hitter, he was also an outstanding defensive infielder with a strong arm. Toews joined the Winnipeg Colonels in 1973, and played in the Western Major Fastball League in 1973, 1974, 1978, and 1979. The Colonels captured the Western Major Fastball Championship in 1973 and the East Division title in 1978. Switching to the Winnipeg Men's Slo-Pitch League ‘A’ division in 1981, and the Manitoba Senior Slo-Pitch League in 1997, Toews continued to excel with numerous medals at the Provincial, Western Canadian (tournament MVP in 1994), National and Senior Softball USA World Championships. |
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Sharon Martin
All-Around Category | Sharon Martin's involvement in softball covers all aspects of the game - player, coach and administrator. Sharon began organized ball at the age of 13 and continued to advance in the game to the Sr. “A” level where she played at the Canadian Championships. She continued to be a player/coach until 1985 where she decided to put her efforts fully into coaching. For the past seventeen years, she has been a member of the Smitty's Senior team's coaching staff. Her teams have won numerous league, provincial, national and Western Canadian championships. Throughout her playing and coaching career, Sharon used her administrative and organizational skills at the local, provincial and national levels and she continues to do so to this day. |
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Murray Blight
Builder Category | Murray Blight, a politician / policeman, has always been front & centre when organizing softball in the Brandon area. Since the 1970's, Murray has established leagues, sponsored teams, and volunteered with the Manitoba Softball Association. Murray has held titles of President, Vice-President, Director, Secretary, Coordinator, Chairperson and Sponsor/General Manager of various softball teams and organizations. He is seen as a leader and an organizer not only in the Westman area but also throughout the province of Manitoba. In 2006, Murray was the leader in the successful MSHOF banquet held in Brandon. |
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Peter Dick
Builder Category | Recognized in the Builder category, Peter Dick began his softball career as a player, coach and umpire over 50 years ago. It is through Peter's role as an umpire that has seen him reach his greatest achievements. His love of officiating saw him umpiring at National championships, Pan Am Games and World championships. Peter also lent his expertise at the organizational level serving on the provincial Officials Development Committee, running umpire clinics and acting as UIC or DUIC at numerous National and International championships. Peter currently sits on the Manitoba Softball Association's Board of Governors. As of last year, Peter could still be seen behind the plate in the Steinbach area. |
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George McBride
Builder Category | Founding president of the Winnipeg Adult Co-Ed Softball League, George's contribution to Softball in Manitoba expanded over a 23 year period. Under his guidance, the league grew from 6 teams in 1967 to over 46 teams at the height of the league's glory in 1980. In addition to acting as the league's chief organizer, George also managed to find time to coach a team in the league for 12 years. During this time, George also contributed to the promotion and development of softball in Manitoba through his VPW channel 11 program called TIME OUT, which was on the air from 1977-1997. Over the years, George strived to ensure that participating teams benefited from the league's mandate to encourage and promote fair play and good sportsmanship. |
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| 1942-1943 McDonald Airports Senior Men Team Category | In 1942, the McDonald Airports beat the Globelite Batteries, who had been the Manitoba Champions the previous 3 years in the Winnipeg Diamond Ball League final. Then the Airports beat Portage R.C.A.F. All-Stars (who had beat Brandon) to win the Manitoba Provincial Softball title at Portage la Prairie. Continuing their success in 1943, the Airports successfully defended their title defeating Globelite Batteries in the semi finals and then beating #8 Repair Depot in the Provincial final at Wesley Park. The Airports went to Regina the next day and lost a four game series to Regina in the Western Canadian Championship. The McDonald Airports won the first game 3 - 1, lost the second game 8 - 2, tying the third 2 - 2, and losing the fourth 4 - 1. |
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| 1955 Ramblers Senior Girls Softball Team Team Category | The majority of the Rambler girls played together with the IPAC Intermediate team. Being successful there, they then moved up to the senior ranks and easily won the league in 1954, but lost in the playoffs. The Ramblers won the Senior Girls Manitoba Championship in 1955 with strong pitching, solid defence and good hitting. They played in a very competitive three team league winning the Senior Girls Softball League title with hard fought victories over the CUAC Blues 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, lost 7-6 and winning the final game 9-2. The team went on to play Shoal Lake for the Manitoba Provincial title and defeated them handily in straight games to become the Manitoba champions. The Ramblers also represented Manitoba at the Western Canadian Championship held in Winnipeg. |
