Bette and Denis ‘Dee’ Murphy have been named honourary patrons for the 2016 Canadian men’s and master men’s fastpitch championships, beginning in St. John’s in less than a week.
The husband and wife team have more than 80 years of combined involvement in the sport and their contributions were recognized in 1977 when both were inducted into the Softball Newfoundland and Labrador Hall of Fame.
“Dee and Bette are the mother and father of softball in our province,” said tournament chairman Gary Corbett.
Bette Murphy played on teams that won five St. John’s senior A and seven provincial senior A ladies championships, including the first-ever women’s tournament in 1966, when she was the top batter.
As a coach, she led the St. John’s Ladies All-Stars to a provincial title and was the first female coach in the St. John’s Junior Men’s League. As an administrator, she was the first Softball NL ladies chairperson, a position she held for 10 years; president and secretary of the St. John’s Senior A Ladies League; and the first-ever delegate to represent the Atlantic region at Softball Canada meetings.
Dee Murphy is also a member of the Canadian and St. John’s Softball Halls of Fame, as well as the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame. The founding president of Softball NL, he was elected a chartered vice-president of Softball Canada in 1965. He represented Canada twice at World Softball meetings, chaired softball at the 1977 Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, and was chair for three other national championships. Click here to continue reading at The Telegram.
Editor’s note: Here is the official Twitter page for the 2016 Men’s Canadian Championships. They had 100 followers yesterday and announced they were shooting for 200 by next Wednesday when the tournament begins. Pretty good surge overnight – they are at 150 at press time today.