2025 Inductees

ATHLETE CATEGORY:

BRIAN GADSBY

Brian Gadsby was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB and began playing fastball at the age of 16. Over the next few years he played on a number of teams in the Winnipeg Industrial League.  In 1975 he moved up to play Sr. A ball with the Steinbach Stealers.  He continued playing competitive fastball until 1987, at the Sr. A and Sr. B levels.  He played on teams that won numerous provincial titles and competed in Western Canadian and National Championships.  Brian retired for a period of 16 years to coach his son’s ball teams but returned to softball in 2003 to play Sr. A Slo-Pitch.   On two occasions Brian was a member of the Gold Medal team at the SPN National 60+ Championships and on one occasion brought home the tournament MVP medal as well.  From 2011 to 2019 he organized, played with and coached the Manitoba Keystone Canucks team that competed in 5 Huntsman World Slo-Pitch Championships in St. George, Utah, winning 3 Silver Medals.  He continues to play competitive Slo-Pitch softball.  On whatever team he played on or coached, Brian displayed both excellent skills and leadership and will go into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as an athlete.

DAVE SAULNIER

As did most male softball players, Dave grew up playing baseball.  His route to competitive fastball was different than most in that he played baseball well into his 20’s, even spending time playing semi-pro baseball in the US.  In the early 70’s he wound up in Winnipeg and his first experience with fastball was with none other than the Winnipeg Colonels of the Western Major Fastball League.  After playing with the Colonels for a couple years he moved on to Senior A fastball and by the 1980’s he was playing Senior A Slow-pitch.  He participated in numerous national championships with teams from both Manitoba and later teams from British Columbia.  He was known as a top-notch outfielder and a power hitter.  Dave will be going into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as an athlete.  

DEAN FULLER

Dean Fuller was born and raised in Boissevain, MB and began playing fastball with the Boissevain high school team and in 1980 began playing competitive fastball with the Minto Mustangs.  For the next 11 years he was the catcher on a pair of very successful teams - the Minto Mustangs and the Winnipeg Penguins.  In 1989 he also spent the winter playing top level fastball in New Zealand.  As a player he has played on numerous provincial winning teams at the Intermediate A and Senior B levels and in Western Canadian Championships.  Dean always credited the success of the teams he played on to the pitchers.  However, good pitchers require good catchers and anyone who played with or against Dean knew he was a good one.  He will be going into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as an athlete.

JAMES MANN

James Mann grew up in Brandon, MB and began playing fastball at the age of 17, in the Brandon Men’s Fastball League.  For the next 20 years he played with various teams in Brandon becoming known as an outstanding outfielder.  After a “brief retirement” Jim returned to competitive fastball in the Brandon Centennial League at the age of 55.  He played 5 more years of fastball before turning to competitive Slo-Pitch in his early 60’s.  Over the years he had opportunities to play with various teams in Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg and played in tournaments in Canada and the US.  He retired from softball at the age of 76.  Along the way he collected numerous All-Star Outfielder awards and played on teams that won numerous Brandon league championships, provincial championships and in Western Canadian Championships.  James Mann will go into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as an athlete.

AL NORRIS

Al Norris began playing fastball in his hometown of Donavon, Saskatchewan.  In a career that ran from 1959 to 1986, he made his mark on the game across western Canada as a player and a coach.  In the ‘60’s he played out of Saskatoon, in the ‘70’s he played and coached out of Winnipeg and from 1983 to 1986 he coached and managed teams in Calgary.  His success in Manitoba included being on teams that won 6 provincial championships as well as being a member of the Winnipeg Colonels of the Western Major Fastball League for 3 years.  He also competed in the 1969 Canada Summer Games and won numerous batting titles and awards over the years.  Al Norris will be going into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame as an athlete.

ALL-AROUND CATEGORY:

LARRY SKINNER

Larry Skinner was born and raised in Vancouver, BC and it was there that he began his 5+ decades of involvement in the sport of fastball.  In Vancouver he played on and helped manage a couple of Sr. A teams.  In the mid 1960’s he moved to Winnipeg, MB and continued playing and coaching at the Sr. A level.  In 1969 and 1970 he served as president of the Manitoba Major Men’s Fastball League and was also the chairman of the committee that hosted the Centennial Canadian Championships, held at Charlie Krupp Stadium.  From 1971 - 1974 Larry served as the 1st Executive Director of the Canadian Amateur Softball Association, and was based in Ottawa.  In 1975 he got back into coaching and for 20 years was involved with various Sr. A teams in Ontario.  Over his career, Larry has played and coached at provincial and national championships and attended two world championships.  As an organizer and member of numerous committees he has promoted fastball across Manitoba and Canada.  There is no question that he deserves to go into the Hall of Fame in the All-Around Category.

TEAM CATEGORY:

1999-2003 WESTMAN MAGIC

In 1997 a group of mostly 15-year-old girls was put together to start a journey that would result in the team competing at the top levels of girls/women’s softball in western Canada.  They began by playing an exhibition schedule against other teams in Manitoba and attended tournaments in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.  By the time they reached Midget age, they began competing in the Manitoba Ladies Super Softball League in the Open Division.  Starting in 1999 the team went on a run that resulted in 2 Golds and a Bronze in provincials at the Midget level and a Gold and a Silver in provincials at the Junior level - 5 medals in 5 years.  As a result of their provincial wins, they competed in two Midget Canadian Championships, one National Junior Championship and one Western Canadian Junior Championship.  This is in addition to numerous tournament wins, often against adult teams, across western Canada.  This Westman Magic group will go into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in the Team Category.

2013 Team Manitoba

In 2012, the process of selecting a U21 female softball team to represent Manitoba at the 2013 Canada Summer Games began.  A group of 15 athletes along with 4 coaches was chosen and after countless practices and exhibition games the team traveled to Sherbrooke, Quebec for the Games.  They went through the qualifying round with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss.  Four of those wins were shutouts and in two games, only 2 runs were allowed.  Their only loss was to Quebec by a score of 1-0.  In the first round of the Page Play-offs, they met that same Quebec team and this time they won, which put them directly into the Gold Medal Game against Team BC.  The Manitoba team did not bring home a gold medal but their silver medal is the top finish by any Manitoba softball team at the Canada Games.