Three Newfoundlands will be inducted into the Canadian Softball Hall of Fame. They will be inducted at a ceremony at the Softball Canada annual meeting in St John’s November 9th to 11th.
Softball great Colin Abbott will be inducted into the athlete category. Randy Souliers has been an official for over 20 years. And Les Howey will be inducted along with the 1992 Canadian Men’s fast pitch softball team that won gold.
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).
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.
