‘Mr. Slo-Pitch’ Bill Bowers honoured with plaque at Bowers Park
Bill Bowers’ wish for all ball players was a simple one.
“Blue skies, nothing but blue skies, from now on.”
Nary a cloud hung in the sky as that wish came true on Wednesday morning as friends and family gathered for the unveiling of a plaque to recognize Bowers’ commitment to the game of slopitch. It was almost as if the late Mr. Bowers, who died in July at the age of 72, himself wanted an unobstructed view of the formal proceedings.
The plaque now stands at the entrance to Bowers Park, on Brealey Dr. in the city’s southwest end, as a tribute to his tireless effort to grow the sport of slo-pitch in the city and to provide the people of Peterborough a chance to rekindle their youth playing a game they love.
“What Bill understood was that it wasn’t about the hits, it wasn’t about the runs, the wins and the loses; it was about being with the guys and having a beer after the game at somebody’s house. Being able to continue to be a kid,” said friend Dave Crowley, with the Peterborough SloPitch Association.
“And that ended when we were in our teens. There was no where to play. And … then Bill showed up and he had this game called slo-pitch and guess what? We got to be kids. We got to be kids, not for a couple of years, we got to be kids for decades. And without him I’m not sure it would have happened.”
Known as Mr. Slo-Pitch, Mr. Bowers organized the first slopitch league in Peterborough in 1976. He then grew the sport in the area eventually co-ordinating the 1980 Summer Games, the 1989 Co-Ed Provincial Championships and the 1996 National SloPitch Championships, all held in Peterborough.
In 1997, Mr. Bowers was named Sports Personality of the Year and Peterborough Tourism Ambassador of the Year.
Mr. Bowers also served as president of the Peterborough SloPitch Association and Co-ordinator with Slo-Pitch National for 27 years. The ball diamonds near the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre on Brealey
Drive were named in after him in 1996.
Close friend Maureen Lewis says she and her husband Bob met Mr. Bowers’ and his late wife Erin around 40 years ago. She adds having a plaque installed at Bowers Park in recognition of his life-long commitment to the sport and Peterborough is fitting.
“Our mutual love of the game is what brought us together. Bill’s passion and desire to build the sport of slo-pitch within our city was contagious. Bob and I are forever grateful to have been invited along for the ride,” Lewis said.
Mr. Bowers’ son Dan made the trip back to Peterborough from Fargo, North Dakota, where he now lives and works, to attend Wednesday’s plaque unveiling. He says his father’s love of the game rubbed off on him while growing up in Peterborough. He ended up going to college on a baseball scholarship and went on to coach the game.
Dan says he is planning on moving back to Peterborough soon. He has a seven-year-old son, Blake, who is “addicted to baseball” so he expects he will get involved as a volunteer, just like his dad.
“My father sunk his heart into that for years and he took great pride in it,” Dan Bowers said.
“He (took) tremendous pride in this facility (Bowers Park) and all the joy that it brings to so many. He would certainly be very humbled at this honour, but very, very proud.”
Lewis agrees.
“Bill was a humble and modest man who was always quick to deflect any praise or accolade to someone else,” Lewis said.
“Bob and I know how appreciative he’d be if he were here today to receive this honour. He would say, ‘Well, this is outstanding. Now let’s go play some ball.’”