Unearthing classic softball history
A priceless piece of softball history has unearthed some classic gems about attitudes to women in sport in the 1940s
Documentary makers Paul Davidson and Barbara Gibb were given film of the 1949 New Zealand women’s team playing Australia which softball legend Naomi Shaw found it in her Stokes Valley garage.
It has now been restored and will feature in Labour Weekend celebrations marking 75 year of softball in the Hutt Valley.
The film begins with what appears to be a haka with the male narrator using a comical tone.
‘‘That first base, I bet she is not married, she can’t catch anything.’’
There is also a reference to the home plate not being the sort of plate the girls use when they do the dishes.
New Zealand won the first game of the three-test series but went on to lose the next two.
Interestingly, it would be another 17 years until men made their international debut.
Davidson and Gibb have interviewed a number of Hutt Valley identities including Mark Sorenson, John Dawson Terry Nunns, Bill Massey, Roy Dalton and John Hall.
The 20 interviews will be cut down to a 30-minute film and the original interviews archived for future researchers.
Gibb said the interviewees had all been co-operative. ’’I thought wow, what a privilege this is (to do the interviewing). The thing that impressed me the most with guys like Bill Massey and Terry Nunns was that they are true gentlemen,’’ Gibb said
A number of themes emerged during the interviews.
Softball is very family focused with a number of families having a significant impact from one generation to the next.
It also has a tradition of producing great pitchers and the interview with Massey was a highlight.
Some of the interviewees, such as Darryl Marino, were clearly nervous.
He spoke about the influence of his father Eddie and how he was introduced to the game growing up in Stokes Valley.
Later he joined Cardinals where he played alongside Mark Sorenson.
The two became firm friends, although Marino did not initially recognise that Sorenson would go on to be a legend of the game.