Softball Canada Announces
2017 Hall of Fame Inductees

(Ottawa, ON) Softball Canada is pleased to announce the list of inductees to the 2017 Hall of Fame Class who will be inducted at the Softball Canada Congress and Annual General Meeting taking place November 9-11 in St. John’s, N.L. The inductees are Colin Abbott (Athlete – Newfoundland & Labrador), Dave Houghton (Builder – Nova Scotia), Randy Souliers (Official – Newfoundland & Labrador) and the 1992 Canadian Men’s World Championship Team (Team – Canada).

Colin Abbott (Portugal Cove, N.L.) was one of the World’s most feared power hitters and had a lengthy playing career that spanned nearly 30 years. Abbott played in 17 Canadian Championships racking up a total of 11 medals, including six Gold, two silver and three bronze. Individual awards at those events include two Most Valuable Player (1988 and 1990), Two Top Batter (1995 and 1997) and one Top Player of the Championship Round (1988) awards to go along with six All-Star Teams (1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000 and 2001). At the international level, he spent 15 years as a member of the Canadian Men’s National Team Athlete Pool and competed in seven major international events. He competed in the 1989 WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship (Bronze), two Pan American Games (Gold in 1995 and 1999) and four WBSC Men’s Softball World Championships (Silver in 1996 and 2004; Bronze in 2009 and fourth in 2000).

Dave Houghton (Halifax, N.S.) was involved with softball for over forty years as a player, coach, volunteer and administrator in Nova Scotia. Throughout his playing years, he took an active leadership role and naturally transitioned to coaching/managing while also volunteering as a director at Softball Nova Scotia for several years. His coaching involvement spanned the 1990s until 2004, leading three teams to Silver medals at the Canadian Championships. In 2000, Houghton took over the role of President of Softball Nova Scotia when the provincial body was in considerable debt. As a volunteer President, he worked full-time unpaid hours in order to resolve the association’s financial problems. He served as President and Executive Director until his retirement in 2016, leaving Softball Nova Scotia on solid financial grounds and running very successful programs.

Randy Souliers (St. John’s, N.L.) had a very successful umpiring career that spanned 23 years. At the national level, he was a working umpire at seven Canadian Championships including two Junior Men’s (1989 and 1992) and five Men’s (1990, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2003) and obtained his WBSC Certification in 1998. From there, he umpired at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg later followed by the 2004 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship in New Zealand. He served as Softball Newfoundland & Labrador’s Umpire-in-Chief from 1997 to 2000 before becoming a Softball Canada Instructor/Evaluator, leading to his involvement in updating and digitizing Umpire Manuals for Softball Canada’s Officiating Development Committee. He went on to supervise a large amount of Provincial and Canadian Championships, including the 2001 Canada Games.

The 1992 Canadian Men’s World Championship Team was one of the best Men’s Softball teams ever assembled, being the only Canadian team to go a perfect 10-0 on their way to a Gold medal. The pitching staff was anchored by WBSC Hall of Famers Darren Zack (1-0, 14 IP, 0.00 ERA, 29 K) and Mike Piechnik (4-0, 19 IP, 0.37 ERA, 42 K) to go along with Softball Canada Hall of Fame member Jody Hennigar (2-0, 10 IP, 0.00 ERA, 12 K). Led by legendary Head Coach Terry Baytor and long-time assistant coach Les Howey, every bat in the starting lineup – and off the bench – had the ability to hit the ball out of the park, with Canada producing 11 homeruns over the course of the tournament delivered by eight different players led by Marty Kernaghan (3) and Rick Pimlott (2). Darrell Clarkson (.473) led the team in batting average, with Kernaghan and Mark Smith – another Softball Canada Hall of Famer – leading the tournament with 14 runs batted in each. On top of all those statistics, the Canadian team had a flair for the dramatics as evidenced by the Gold medal game against the host New Zealand team, with Canada erasing a 3-0 deficit with Hennigar delivering a pinch-hit three-run homerun to tie the game in the top of the fifth, and a game-winning two-run double by Mark Smith in the top of the eighth before the international tie-breaker rule was established.
 

1992 Canadian Men’s National Team – GOLD

Individual Softball Canada Hall of Fame Members indicated in BOLD