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The First Ten Years
1938-1947
The basic equipment for a softball game - bat, ball, bases and mitt, could all be put into one man's baggage. In 1937 that's what happened - and New Zealand summers have not been the same since.
The man was Mr W H Wilson, credited with bringing the game of softball to New Zealand. Others may have brought softball equipment in before, as the game had been around under a variety of aliases for years in North America, but Mr Wilson was very well placed to see that the game had a welcoming environment in which to grow. He was the general works manager of the Lower Hutt plant of the Ford Motor Company, and as such he had access to a pool of potential players - Ford employees.
He unpacked the gear, explained how it was in his native Canada and started the workers off playing competitive softball in the lunch breaks. With four teams formed within four days, the game obviously appealed to the local lads.