Times Advocate, 1992-06-24, Page 18Pale 18 Titles -Ad moble, Juvis 24,1892
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Three area women remember their diamond days
By Michelle Ellison
T -A Staff
CREDITON - Dust, dirt, sweat
and competition may not have al-
ways been thoughts embraced by
the majority of women in the past,
but three area women can affirm
that attitude has been changing for
decades.
Audrey Wade of Crediton, Win-
nie Marshall of Grand Bend and
Audrey Pooley of Exeter all played
softball in three different decades
from the 1920s to the 1960s and to-
gether their experiences highlight
the evolution Of the women's sport.
Wade, born and raised in Lon-
don, played catcher for the Small -
man and Ingram Thistles in the
Y.W.C.A Softball League in the
1920s and in the London Ladies
Major Softball League in the
1930s. Marshall's softball
stemmed from the Mitchell Wom-
en's Softball team in the 1940s and
Pooley played for both the Strat-
ford Junior Police Kadettes and the
Kroehler Senior women's team as
well as the Exeter Greys through
the 1950s and 1960s.
Marshall and Wade both recall
fust becoming interested in the
sport during their elementary
school days through youth groups.
"We had our own field and the
boyshad their own to play in," *gid
84 -year-old Wade. Marshall re-
calls young people's groups where
each team was required to field
four.girls.
"gbcial life revolved more
around the community then. That's
why we got the young players'
groups " explains Marshall.
With Pooley, however, one can
see how athletics evolved from a
vested interest, to a real passion.
"Sports was my life," she said.
"We used to live to play ball."
Pooley was also an avid badmin-
ton and basketball player and one
of her first softball memories was
of going to the Stratford ball park
simply to sec, "if I could just be a
bat girl," for the Junior Girls Police
Kadettes and coming. away the
youngest girl on the team at 13.
All three women agree the
biggest change -in the sport to , date
has been in the use and style of the
glove and uniforms. Wade remem-
bers her position as catcher before
she wore a face mask or a glove
and recalls spikes that were some-
how strapped onto running shoes.
Marshall also recalls wearing
long wool stockings, middy blous-
es with ties and bloomer skirts.
Pooley, who is well remembered
for her pitching wean the Exeter
Greys, still keeps a picture of her
1956 championship team the Junior
Police Kadettes who sport team
leather jackets and satin long pants
and jerseys which she says were
extremely popular in the larger cit-
ies.
"Teams from Toronto first had
satin shorts," she says. Both Wade
and Pooley had opportunities to
play under the lights in Toronto.
Pooley's Stratford Junior team cap-
tured their third Ontario title in
four years there in 1956 and
Wade's London team travelled by
train every Civic Holiday Weekend
for four years.
Marshall's softball experience
has extended through many genera-
tions. Not only did her husband
coach women's baseball, her
daughters Pat, Iris and Marilyn and
granddaughters have also contin-
ued the tradition playing for such
teams as the Exeter Gr+eys.and MB-
verton Suns senior ladies fastball
teams and the Milverton junior
women's team.
Granddaughter Patti Down is the
Exeter Grey's pitcher. Thus, she
has witnessed other transforma-
tions in the style of the women's
game as well.
"It's faster and it's harder. They
throw harder and they run faster,"
Coveting up the ball before it got oulof his reach was fxeter catchsr Gavin Snell. He was In-
volved in a collision at the plate in which the £t. Marys, runner was safe at home during Sat-
urday's bantam boys' tournament in Exeter.
Cold weather postpones tournament
EXETER • Cold weather prevented the Exeter
Bantams Boys Fastball Tournament from being com-
pleted on Saturday.
The final game between the host Exeter Royals
and rivals Usury will be played at a later date.
On Saturday, the Royals won twice after dropping
their opening game. an 8-7 decision to St. Marys.
^ St. Marys a, Royals 7
The opening game of the tournament saw Exeter
build a 4-0 first inning lad but St Marys chipped
away and got to Royals' starting pipcber Dennis
Gower.
The game was highlighted by Entree catcher Gavin
Snell who ripped a home run in the second Wing
which padded the Royals lead.
gaiter 11, Goderkh 7
Although playing with the flu, pitcher Steve Cook
did a good job and his teammates came up with some
. litnely-bits,
Saau1, Sean McCann and Ben Armstrong had hits
farther/inners rho led '7-2 after the first inning.
Wafer 42, Davy 17
Malacca was by no marts *pitchers' duel.
Both teams had won two games and lost once in
the iotaad-robin tournament which meant two games
were required to have a champion.
'e first pubo was played with the Royals winning
io *slugfest.
Suter Gent 10 batters to ,the piste in the second in-
sinand scored eight runs. .
4
said Marshall.
It also seems to the women that
their teagueS were either short-
lived or'f uctnated in terms of their
popularity with women. Wade
comments that when she started
playing in the 1920s, "there weren't
that many women who wanted to
play." But eventually four teams
belonged to the London Ladies Ma -
teased rivalry between the Brow
field medics Puffball team .mid the
Dieter Greys when "we used to
peck diem in," to see the games,
but admits she hasn't even Beat a
game fur years. As well, in the
South Perth Women's Fastball
league, St. Mary s, a team who has
been a competitive contender in the
past, did not enter a team this year.
neva got the write ups in the pa-
pers4lhay.4++4 411L."-hdall three
women nor ed that managers mid
coaches wage elmoet thistly auk
none of the wAms Pop any lip
limitations pet en Them as ibM lie
athletes. Pooley attributes this
wide acceptance to the simple fact
that, ''it was just good ball to
watch."
"We had our own field
and the boys
had their own."
jor league in the '30s and Wade
says "the girls teams got more spec-
tators than the boys."
However, it had folded by the
late 1930s which Wade thinks had
a lot to do with the depression and
' the war that followed which took
women away from many leisure
time activities.
Pooley recalls a time during a
Marshall speculates that this lag
in popularity could be a result of
the .greater variety of interests
women now have the opportunity
to be involved in. The increase in
the size of communities are also
making it possible for players to
travel to neighbouring towns to join
as one team, she adds.
Although Marshall admits "we
Audrey Wade
'Winnie Marshall
Despite the diverse experiences
each of these women has had in the
sport, each one has been at the
point where that final pitch or pop
fly has meant the difference be-
tween winning and losing and as
Pooley puts it, there was a time
when each ate, drank and slept soft-
ball
Lir i
Audrey Pooley
Exeter Imperials beaten in final
ST. MARYS -•It wasa long, long
weekend for the Exeter Chrysler
Imperials.
After winning four straight
games here at the annual St. Marys
Men's Fastball Tournament, they,
were beaten twice by the hosting
Selects in the championship game.
With a short bench and playing
in cold, damp weather, the Imperi-
als were beaten 3-1 and later, 6-1
in the double knockout 14 -team
tournament.
Exeter marched to the finals after
beating the Fullerton A's Friday
night, Tavistock Orioles and Se-
bringville Jays on Saturday and a
slim 2-1 victory over the Selects
Sunday morning.
Selects 6, Imperials 1
St. Marys got to Exeter pitcher
Derwyn Hodgins very early, con-
necting for four hits and scoring
three runs in the top of the first in-
ning.
Ron White, named the top batter
of the tournament, along with Paul
Bushfeld, John Moore and Scott
Shackleton all had singles.
St. Marys built a comfortable 4-0
lead when Doug Levy cranked a
home run.
Exeter got one back in the bot-
tom of the third inning when sec-
ond baseman Jim Allison led off
with a single, moved to second.on
a passed ball, went to third of Ke-
vin Lightfoot's base hit land scored
on a Sandy Hyde single.
Hyde. the Imperials centrefielder,
made one of the best defensive
plays of the tournament when he
dove to catch a hard hit ball off the
bat of Levy in the fifth inning.
Exeter threatened in the sixth
frame but kft Brian Noyes, Der-
wyn Hodgins and Steve Neil
stranded on base.
Selects 3, Imperials 1
Hodgins, named the Most Valu-
able Player of the tournament, had
a no-hitter going into the top of the
seventh but Levy kd off with a
double and Moore and Shackleton
singled before Steve Tompkins
belted a game winning triple.
In the bottom of the seventh,
Hodgins led off with a single and
pinch runner Jim Lewis scored af-
ter a Steven Neil singled and then
Lightfoot'grounded out.
Exeter right fielder Darren Neil
made a good catch on John Bell as
the he dove for a catch in foul terri-
tory. Levy, playing left field for St.
Marys made a good catch on a hard
hit ball by Noyes.
Imposials' shortstop Dan Hey-
wood fires to first base.
Intperials 2, Selects 1
What was to become the fust of
three games between these two
teams ended in victory for Exeter.
Rob Schneckenberger doubled in
Ibe fourth inning, eventually scar -
.sass.
Imperials .to host tournament
EXETER - Plans arc now being made fot the 1lth Annul Exeter
Men's Fastbail Tournament which will be held at the South Huron Rec-
reation Centre on July 3-5. '
The hosting Exeter Chrysler imperials won the 16 -team tournament
in 1991 edging the St. Marys Selects.
Tlltis;past weekend in St. Marys, it was the Selects winning their own
tournament as they berth the Itnperials, (see this week's sports section
for lumber d):
At the iixctcretailstournarnent, there will not only be teams from the South
Perth Men's Fastball League but Sarnia, London and four clubs are ex-
pected from Toronto.
Action gets underway Friday night beginning at 8 p.
•
ung on a passed ball.
In the fifth, Lightfoot led off with
a walk, moved on a well executed
bunt by Hyde and scored on Dan
Heywood's single.
Imperials 4, Jays 1
Allison scored a run and had a
sacrifice fly to score another as`the
Imperials had a run in the second,
another in the third and two more
in the fifth frame.
Lightfoot and Darren Neil had a
good game at the plate, both had
two hits.
Imperials 1, Orioles 9
Paul Stafford singled in the first
inning for Exeter and scored the
only run of the game when Noyes
connected with a two -out single.
Hodgins, who had a triple in the
fifth inning, allowed just three hits
while striking out 10.
Imperials 5, A's 0
This was a 1-0 game until the
sixth inning when Exeter took ad-
vantage of four walks and base hits
by Schneckenberger, Hodgins and
Hyde.
More Sports
ori pige 20
LET ME GET THIS
STRAIGHT
MMT is an anti -knock gaso-
line additive that we import
from the states, where it is
banned because the exhaust
emissions may cause neuro-
logical damage.
Ethanol, made from Canadian
corn, is a viable substitute.
A private member's bill pre-
sented by Liberal MP Lorne
Henderson to ban MMT in
Canada is doomed to die on
the order paper.
Who elects these people?
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