December 14,
2023 For Immediate Release
MANITOBA SOFTBALL HALL of FAME INDUCTEES
2024
Seven individuals and three teams will be inducted
into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame on May 11th, 2024. The group
of inductees includes 5 Athletes, 1 All Around, 1 Builder and 3 teams. The
Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame & Museum Inc. recognizes individuals, teams
and organizations for outstanding achievement in softball and/or for
contributions to the sport of softball.
All
Around Category:
Fran Giesbrecht;
Athlete Category: Kevin Bartley, Shelly Bohn, Nathan Giesbrecht, Mandy Greenberg,
Ron Taylor;
Builder
Category:
Steve Mymko;
Team
Category:
1979 & 1980 Brandon Westman
Merchants Fastball Club;
1997 &
1998 Smitty’s Terminators Jr Women’s Team;
1974 &
1975 St Vital Flocking Ducks Sr Men’s Team
An
independent committee, facilitated by Jack Coulson and Les Newman received the
candidate’s nomination information and were selected the by Doug Fraser, Jill
Mathez, Al McPherson, Ferdie Nelissen, Brett Turner and Bev Workman.
The twenty first Induction banquet will be
held at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre in Winnipeg on May 11th,
2024. Tickets at a cost of $85.00 are available from Les Newman phone
number 204-235-1674, or email: lnewman@live.ca
ATHLETES
Kevin Bartley
Kevin began his softball journey as
the catcher on his high school team in
Killarney, MB. After 20+ years of
competitive fastball he has an impressive list of
accomplishments. Teams that he played
on include Sanders, of the Southwest
Major Fastball League and the Minto
Mustangs. While playing with Sanders,
Kevin was on 3 SWMFL championship
teams and was also named to the league
all-star team 3 times. As a member of
the Minto Mustangs he played in 9
consecutive Sr. B or Intermediate A
provincial finals, winning 5 of them. He
played in 7 Western Canadian fastball
championships at the Intermediate A and
Sr. B levels, winning 1 Gold and 2 Bronze medals. In 1997 Kevin also played in
the ISC travel league and the NAFA World Tournament in Fargo, ND. His final
provincial win was in 2017 where he
won Gold in the 55+ Slo-pitch Provincials.
Shelly Bohn
Shelly’s softball career began in her
hometown of Glenella, MB and she took it to
another level after moving to Winnipeg
following high school. She played in
various Co-Ed and women’s softball
leagues, eventually joining a Slo-pitch team
called Mooses which was very competitive
in tournaments in Winnipeg and the
surrounding area. In 2002 Shelly
joined the Manitoba Bison Blondes Sr. Women’s
Slo-pitch team that went on to compete
in 2 Western Canadian Championships –
winning a Gold and a Silver – and 7
National Championships – winning 5 Golds, 1
Silver and 1 Bronze. No matter what
team she played on, Shelly was seen as a
leader and top performer.
Nathan Giesbrecht
Nathan has excelled as a fastball
player from an early age. As a bantam aged
player he competed in Western
Canadians and at the Canada Games. As a junior
aged player he was on Manitoba teams
that competed at Junior Nationals twice.
As a senior player he played with the
Red Dogs; the Manitoba Alliance and the
Kegel Black Knights out of Fargo, ND.
With these teams he competed at many
provincials and Western Canadian
Championships and made numerous
appearances at ISC and NAFA
tournaments. From 1997 to 1999 Nathan was
named to Canada’s national team player
pool. At every level that he played at he
was a top batter and earned various
individual awards. Following his playing
career he did some coaching at the
minor softball level and continues to serve on
the Landmark Minor Softball Board.
Mandy Greenberg
Mandy developed into one of the best
female pitchers from Manitoba. She began
playing softball at the age of 9 in
the Maples area of Winnipeg and went on to
play on numerous minor ball teams. As
a junior aged player she played on the
Manitoba Angels Jr. Team and on the
Manitoba team at the 2009 Canada Games.
For 4 years she played collegiate
fastball at Minot State University and also played
Senior fastball with the Smitty’s
Terminators. Wherever she played, she was an
absolutely dominant pitcher who has
had success at provincial, national and
collegiate levels and has thrown
no-hitters at each of these levels. Mandy has
been awarded countless pitching awards
and been named to many all-star teams.
Ron Taylor
Ron Taylor grew up in Winnipeg and was
an accomplished athlete in both hockey
and softball. As an adult, he played
competitive fastball at the highest levels for
over 3 decades and was a feared hitter
wherever he played. He has played on
teams that won at least 8 provincial
titles and 2 Western Canadian
championships. He played for 3
different teams in the Western Major Fastball
League including the Edmonton Monarchs
and the Winnipeg Colonels. Ron
played on the Manitoba team that was
the host team in the 1967 Pan Am Games
in Winnipeg and has won medals at
World Championships in both fastball and slo-
pitch. He has been inducted to the
Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as a member
of 4 different teams and will now go
in as an exceptional individual athlete.
ALL-AROUND
Fran Geisbrecht
Fran’s involvement in the game of
softball spans over 5 decades. He has played at
the Sr. A level, winning a silver
medal at the 1984 Western Canadian
Championships, and coached minor ball
and Jr. Men’s teams that made it to
provincial and national championships.
One of many highlights in his coaching
career occurred when the Manitoba
Alliance team he was coaching went to the
Canadian Junior Nationals in 1994 –
winning a silver and in 1995 where they won
the gold! In addition to playing and
coaching, Fran was instrumental in helping
develop a softball program in
Landmark, MB that has allowed countless young
people to experience the game of softball. Fran continues to play senior slo-pitch
softball.
BUILDER
Steve Mymko
Steve Mymko has been involved with the
sport of softball for over 35 years. He
played with and coached various teams
over the years. In 2002 he decided that
the northeast area of Winnipeg was
lacking in quality facilities for softball and
began lobbying and fundraising. The
result of his tenacity and drive – Buhler
Recreation Park – opened in 2008. It
is a top-notch multi-sport/multi-use facility
that hosts numerous softball leagues
and has hosted national events such as the
2009 Canadian Sr. Fastpitch
Championships; the 2015 Canadian Native Softball
Championships and the 2023 World
Police and Fire Games. The facility has a
reputation for being well-organized
and up-to-date. Steve’s efforts have been
recognized through many awards
including an induction into the Slo-pitch
National Hall of Fame in 2023. He
continues to be the Executive Director and
Facility Manager for Buhler Recreation
Park.
TEAMS
Brandon Westman Merchants
– 1979-80
The Brandon Westman Merchants team was
formed to compete in the Western
Major Fastball League. However, after
playing in the league for two years, the
team folded after the 1978 season so
the Merchants joined the Brandon
Centennial Fastball League. Over the
next two seasons the team won the
Centennial League twice with a total
record of 42 wins, 5 losses and a tie. In 1979
they won the Manitoba Provincial B
Championship and made it to the final of the
Western Canadian B Championship in
Lethbridge, AB.
St. Vital Flocking Ducks –
1974-’75
The Flocking Ducks was a team made up
of veteran players who had experienced
success at provincial, national and
international levels. In both 1974 and 1975 the
Ducks were the Winnipeg Sr. Men’s
Fastball League champions and the Manitoba
Sr. A provincial champions. As
provincial champions, the Ducks represented
Manitoba at national championships.
Although they did not place at either of the
nationals, each year they lost very
close games to the eventual champions. In
addition to league play, the Ducks
experienced success at top level tournaments
in Manitoba, northwest Ontario and
North Dakota.
Smitty’s Terminators Jr.
Womens Fastball Team – 1997-’98
The Smitty’s Terminators Jr. Team
represented Manitoba at the Canadian Junior
Championships in both 1997 and 1998
and each time brought home silver medals.
There was no junior league for the
girls to play in so they played in the Ladies
Fastpitch League of Winnipeg, against
adult teams. A highlight from 1997 was
winning a Senior level women’s
tournament in Saskatoon in which they beat a
team that would go on to win the Sr. A
Nationals that year. While having solid
pitching, tournament and league
records show that the team was very much
known for its hitting. For example, at
both national championships, their team
batting averages were well above .300,
which is impressive at any level, let alone
at national tournaments.