FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2003
RECORD 19 ELECTED TO ISF HALL OF FAME
A record 19 individuals were recommended by the Hall of Fame Commission and approved by the full Congress this past weekend in Nanjing, China as the next class of inductees to the ISF Hall of Fame. The group consists of nine players, three umpires, three administrators, and four coaches. (One of the nine players went in as a coach as well.) Nominations came from the national softball federations.
The addition of this group will bring the total ISF Hall of Fame membership to 111, with the first three having been elected in 1981.
The Class of 2003 consists of:
| NAME |
COUNTRY |
CATEGORY |
| Kathy Arendsen |
United States |
Player |
| Ivellise Echevarria |
Puerto Rico |
Player |
| Laing Harrow |
Australia |
Player |
| Cheryl Kemp |
New Zealand |
Player/Coach |
| Lesley Monk |
New Zealand |
Player |
| Miriam (Betty) Segarra |
Puerto Rico |
Player |
| Dudley “Douggy” Stanford Smith |
Bahamas |
Player |
| Margaret Rose Usher |
Belize |
Player |
| Clara Vazquez |
Puerto Rico |
Player |
| Mr. Soji Kato |
Japan |
Umpire |
| Margo Koskelainen |
Australia |
Umpire |
| Alan McAuliffe |
Australia |
Umpire |
| Greg Christie |
Bahamas |
Administrator |
| Rafael “Rafi” Serrano |
Puerto Rico |
Administrator |
| Jesús Suniaga |
Venezuela |
Administrator |
| José Agosto |
Puerto Rico |
Coach |
| Sidney Fernander |
Bahamas |
Coach |
| Michael Walsh |
New Zealand |
Coach |
| Colin Ward |
New Zealand |
Coach |
Individual induction ceremonies will take place in the electee’s country. ISF President Don Porter expressed optimism during the Congress that efforts can begin in earnest in 2004 toward eventually establishing the physical Hall of Fame at the world headquarters in Plant City, Florida. For a full list of the members of the ISF Hall of Fame, click here.
The International Softball Federation is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 124 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.
For more information, please contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at brucew@internationalsoftball.com or (813) 864-0100, ext. 229.
