Grant Skinner was born to be a softball player and he became one of Manitoba's best at an early age. Tutored by his father Larry, who was a top player and coach and later Softball Canada executive director, Grant began playing senior "A" ball with Kiewel's Seals in 1967 at age 15. In 1972, he played for the Winnipeg Black Knights in the Canadian Senior Men's Championship and in 1973 joined the Winnipeg Colonels of the newly formed Western Major Fastball League (WMFL). During his years in the WMFL, he was a perennial all-star at second base and won four batting titles. In 1978 he had a league record average of .404. He later played for Manitoba in several Canadian championships winning all-star honours twice and MVP in 1980. In 1983, Canada won the gold medals in the Pan Am Games with Skinner hitting a home run and driving in four runs in the final over the USA. Skinner moved east in 1984 where he played on Canadian championship teams in 1989 and 1993.
