Local history of windmill pitching dates back to arrival of missionary
Ray Judd introduced pitching technique locally in 1955
It is no secret that the survival of any fastball league varies in direct proportion to the strength of its pitching.
In Peterborough, we are the fortunate beneficiaries of a strong tradition of windmill pitching, due mainly to the legacy of Ray Judd, one of the best pitchers in Canada of his era.
He came here as a missionary in 1955, bringing with him an amazing pitching technique.
This technique has been preserved over the past 63 years by a spate of dedicated local pitchers.
The archives at the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame reveal Lefty Reid as the trailblazer for local windmill pitching in 1949. Hitherto, pitchers like Jack Doris, Hadie Eakins, Ken Guilfoyle and many others all used the orthodox style of pitching.
In the early 1950s, Jimmy and Jerry Driscoll followed in Reid’s footsteps pitching for Seabrooke Motors.
In 1955, Ray Judd joined the Lakefield team and this new style of pitching really caught on fire. Judd was not just a good pitcher, he was almost unbeatable.
In the late 1950s, Terry Shaughnessy of Ennismore, Bill Keating and George Ross of Douro, Buzz
Hodgson of Lindsay and local hurlers Art Smith and hockey star, Bill Mahoney, honed their windmill skills in our league. Jim Dawe of Cobourg was also impressive using his slingshot style.
By the early 1960s, the true results of Judd’s influence became apparent as he mentored young pitchers like Jim Fife and myself and the orthodox style of pitching disappeared forever from our league.
In the wake of this transition, we were blessed with a myriad of talented pitchers, including: Jim Bell, Dave Ruthowsky, Brian Condon, Wayne Wells, Randy and Jim Fife, Doug Gibson, Ian Knott, Bill Hartwick, Glenn Crowe, Joe and Rick Flagler, Matt and Luke Leahy, Jeff Murphy and many more.
The very survival of our league can be traced to the pitching seeds of the 1950s planted by a Mormon missionary from Arizona and passed on by local pitchers and coaches who have kept the pitching fires well-stoked.
In 2018, Steve McNaughton, Jake Rose, Eric Lennox and others are endeavouring to maintain this strong pitching tradition.
Moreover, minor boys softball is being revived by committed coaches like Dan Hennessy, Jeff Jacobs, Scott and Shawn Hartwick and Chris Sullivan who have undertaken the challenging task of rekindling this flickering flame at the grassroots level. They have successfully started a six-team, under-12 league for Peterborough and neighbouring towns.
Furthermore, Craig Whitnell has resuscitated a local women’s league which had been inactive for several years.
So far this season, after four weeks of city men’s league play, Marshalls are in first place with 11 points, followed by Terry’s Gas and Variety with 4 and Kangas Equipment with 1.
NOTE: Evan Loucks has moved from the coach’s box to the pitching rubber and is undefeated thus far in two starts.