For more than 25 years, Bob Wright played a major role in the growth and development of softball in the Boissevain area of southwestern Manitoba. From 1961 to 1970 he was the coach and manager as well as the catcher for the Horton team that primarily played Sunday tournaments, but did compete provincially on three occasions. In the early 1970s, he became involved with coaching the group of teenage boys that became the Pringle’s Pirates team and won the provincial senior D men’s championship in 1975 and 1979. Women’s softball was almost extinct in the area when Wright started coaching the Boissevain Lady Cardinals in the 1980s and the team captured provincial intermediate championships in 1984 and 1985. At a tournament one would often see Bob Wright coaching two different teams at different age levels. Wright taught players to be gracious in winning and losing, with sportsmanship being all-important.
