Author: Dan Pfeffer

William Maher

William Dale “Bill” Maher (1931-2023)

A constant for the sport in South Dakota, Maher first became involved with USA Softball as a player, coach and umpire before transitioning into the administrative side of the game in 1972 where he served as the USA Softball of South Dakota Commissioner for 42 years. While in this position, Maher worked as a team with his late wife, Rosemary Ann Maher (1939-2022), to boost team registrations from 350 to over 2,000 in the heyday of softball. The South Dakota umpire program also flourished under Maher’s guidance with yearly state or National Umpire Schools and registration numbers as high as 500. During his time as Commissioner, Maher instituted a permanent structure for the USA Softball of South Dakota Hall of Fame, began and distributed a quarterly “South Dakota Softball News” and created a scholarship program for eligible high school seniors with approximately $90,000 being awarded over the last 30 years. In 2022, Maher and Rosemary were jointly recognized for their trailblazing leadership and contributions to the sport as inductees into the USA Softball of South Dakota Hall of Fame.

William D. “Bill” Maher, youngest son of John B. and Rose E. (O’Connor) Maher was born January 27, 1931, in Pierre, South Dakota, and died May 15, 2023, at his Spearfish home surrounded by his loving family.

Bill married Rosemary Ann Bruner of Geddes, S.D., at St. Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church in Pierre on June 22, 1963. To this union seven children were born. Twin daughters, Michelle and Patricia, sons, Michael (Jeanne) and Patrick John (Lisa); daughters, Mary Cook (Allen), Teresa Bartlett (Frank), and Colleen Thompson (Charles). Also blessed to share his life are grandchildren, Heather McQueen, Mia Semmler, Samantha Nordbye (Shawn), Andrea and Joel Thompson, Nicole, Max, Christina, and Jennifer Bartlett, Kathleen Cook, and Peyton Higgs, as well as great-grandchildren, Zachary Hagemann, and Victoria Nordbye.

Bill graduated from Pierre High School in 1949, where he lent a helping hand at Tyler’s Dairy prior to his enlistment in the U.S. Army which included a ten-month tour in Korea and teaching at the Infantry school in Ft. Benning, GA. Upon his honorable discharge, Bill attended S.D.S.U., Brookings. Returning to Pierre, ever helpful and work oriented, his diligence was noticed by the South Dakota Department of Veterans affairs in Pierre where he was hired as a veteran’s service officer, a position he held for 33 years, striving to improve the lives of fellow veterans. In 1978, this employment moved his family to Sturgis where they lived for nearly 25 years. In the midst of these differing employment opportunities, an entrepreneurial spirit led the couple in and out of insurance adjusting, concession businesses and eventual restaurant ownership.

His industriousness and high expectations could be seen in all areas of life, including his passion for the game of softball. This love of softball led him to join his local softball association which grew to greater involvement at a state and national level.  In 1972, Bill was appointed SD Amateur Softball Association State Commissioner, a position he held for forty-two years. Upon his retirement from SDASA in 2013, he was named Commissioner Emeritus. In honor of the tireless work that the couple undertook, Bill and Rosemary were inducted into the S.D. Softball Hall of Fame in 2022. They were proud to be part of this organization and were gifted with many friendships that lasted a lifetime. The couple relocated to Spearfish in 2002 and in their spare time they actively enjoyed the beauty of the Black Hills, especially Terry Peak, and traveled to a variety of destinations including Mediterranean countries and the British Isles.

Bill was a lifelong member of the VFW and the American Legion. Noble in purpose and ever mindful of his civic and patriotic duty, Bill served on the West River Draft Board for a twenty-year period. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Honorable Order of Blue Goose.

To all who knew him, Bill was a great conversationalist. He could and did develop a rapport with almost everyone he came in contact, even if not seeing eye to eye. Being very social, he taught his children and grandchildren the virtue of patience as we waited for these conversations to conclude.  Although Bill would never have described himself this way, those who knew and loved him best recount him as being caring, a fierce friend, headstrong (stubborn), honorable, loyal, selfless, and knowingly grateful and blessed. He was thoughtful and often found little things to make sure you knew he cared. He gave good advice to those who were wise enough to listen. Through it all, his great sense of humor made us laugh and find joy in all different aspects of life. We will remember the best times, the laughter, the song of a good life.

Dot Wilkinson

Dorothy (Dot) Wilkinson (1921-2023)

Dot Wilkinson was a true trailblazer in the sport of women’s fast pitch softball, beginning her playing career for the Phoenix Ramblers in 1933 when she was just 11 years old and continuing through 1965. Wilkinson was a force to be reckoned with behind the plate, spending majority of her career as a catcher – a position that allowed her to capitalize on her natural leadership skills. A standout player for the Ramblers, Wilkinson helped lead the squad to national championship titles in 1940, 1948 and 1949, while earning 19 All-American honors throughout her 30-year career.

A member of the National Softball Hall of Fame (1970), Wilkinson collected a variety of accolades throughout her storied career including being enshrined into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (1990) as well as being the first woman to be inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (1975).

Dot Wilkinson excelled at softball as well as bowling. In fact, she’s the only member of the National Softball Hall of Fame who is a member of a Hall of Fame in another sport. Twenty years after being inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame, Wilkinson was inducted into the WIBC Hall of Fame for winning a Triple Crown event, the Women’s International Bowling Congress Queens Tournament in 1962 and the WIBC national singles in 1963.

Wilkinson started out playing second base for the PBSW Ramblers and a few years later was switched to behind the plate by coach Ford Hoffman, who told her, “You’re the catcher, you run the team. You’re in a position to see everything that goes on, you can call every play, you can do the whole bit. That’s the place to be.” Before retiring in 1965, Wilkinson earned 19 All-America awards and had some outstanding years for the Ramblers, including:

• 1952 (.374 batting average)
• 1953 (.363 batting average )
• 1957 (.387 average in national championship)
• 1955 (.450 average in national with no errors on 36 chances)
• 1954 (.455 average and 1.000 fielding percentage on 84 chances in national )

Dot said one of her greatest thrills came in 1940 when the Ramblers won their first of three national titles (1948 and 1949). Another thrill came in 1970 when she received her Hall of Fame plaque. If there was a disappointment, Dot said, it was not winning the national tourney in 1964. Retired from real estate sales in 1985, Wilkinson was born October 9, 1921. In 1999, Wilkinson was eighth and the only woman among the top 10 of The Republic’s Arizona Athletes of the Century.

Ron James Boley (1946-2023):

Boley attended Oregon State University where he competed on the football and baseball teams, including the historic 1967 football squad – also known as the Giant Killers – that finished the year ranked seventh in the nation. Following his graduation from Oregon State, he began his tenure with USA Softball as the volunteer coordinator for the men’s fast pitch, men’s and women’s slow pitch and coed softball leagues. He was appointed the USA Softball of Portland Commissioner in 1982 where he oversaw various national championships and was a member of the Region 9 Adult Classification Committee while also serving as the assistant chairman and chairman of the National Classification Committee. Following his retirement as Commissioner for USA Softball of Portland in 2020, Boley remained involved with the organization as a member of the Board of Directors. In 2013, he was recognized for his leadership and contributions to the sport of softball in Portland with enshrinement in the Region 9 Hall of Fame.

Off the field, Boley began a career with the City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department where he eventually earned a role as the Sports Supervisor. For 30 years, Boley directed the Portland youth and adult football and basketball leagues while also serving as the director for the American Legion, Connie Mack and adult baseball leagues.

Boley was survived by his wife Vickye Boley and his son Erik.

Remembrances for Boley can be made to the Maurice Lucas Foundation or non-kill animal shelters in his name.

Amateur Softball Association committee might decide as early as today to not allow new high-powered bat.

Like another famed offensive machine, the “T-bat” may be heading the way of the T-Rex.

The titanium bat, banned for some fast-pitch and modified fast-pitch tournaments by the Amateur Softball Association last month, could get the same treatment today when the ASA equipment standards committee addresses the bat’s future in slow-pitch.

Merle Butler, the ASA umpire-in-chief, said that the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association has completed an independent study of the bat. Five members of the seven-person committee met Friday in Oklahoma City to discuss the report’s findings. They were scheduled to meet again today and take a vote on the bat’s future in ASA-sanctioned events.

Bats using a titanium-based alloy enable the ball to jump off faster and travel farther. But critics say the ball leaves the bat so quickly that the risk of injury to infielders and pitchers is increased because their reaction time is cut.

Easton sports manufactures titanium bats in Burlingame, and Jim Darby, senior vice president of promotions, has heard the criticism.

“Their concerns are ours, too,” he said. “We want the game to be safe. We’re in this world of lawyers, too. “I’ve heard of no injury peculiar to the bat. I just hope people will keep an open mind and say, ‘OK, the bat has been out on the market for a year; let’s give it a fair evaluation.’ ”

But Darby and others involved in the titanium-bat industry admit that the bat’s future doesn’t look promising.

“Even though it’s approved now, it’s going to be very difficult to keep the bat on the market,” said Darby. Chris Chaney, manager of the San Diego-based Professionals Choice/TPS club that played at the recent Super National slow-pitch qualifier in Bakersfield, said the titanium bat is changing softball, and not necessarily for the better.

“It’s really changing the dynamics of the game,” said Chaney, whose team is sponsored by Tournament Player Series, a subsidiary of Hillerich & Bradsby Co., which makes Louisville Sluggers. “The average power hitter becomes a home run hitter. And what are you going to do? You can’t move the fences back because the fences are already established.”

Clearing the 300-foot fences at Sports park was no problem for Chaney’s club, which in one half-inning sent 33 batters to the plate, hit 21 home runs and scored 29 runs in a 71-52 victory over D&D Thoroughbred of Seattle, Wash. The half-inning lasted 64 minutes.

“I like home runs, but I also think there’s a place for the singles and spray hitters in softball,” said Chaney, whose team would eventually finish third.

Titanium bats have already been banned by the U.S. Slo-Pitch Association and National Softball Association. ASA also initially outlawed the bat but lifted the ban until conclusive testing could be done.