Hall of Fame coach and U.S. Olympic assistant coach Shirley Topley, passed away on October 20, 2026, at the age of 92. Born and raised in Hondo, Alberta, Canada, Topley excelled in several sports, including field hockey and basketball, but it was softball where she established herself as one of the greatest of all-time.
Playing Career
Topley first starred with Canadian teams such as the South Hill Queens of Vancouver. She earned second-team ASA All-America honors in 1960, which led to an invitation to the 1961 Women’s Major Fast Pitch All-Star series. Impressed by her skills, Orange Lionettes owner Ricki Caito recruited her to California in 1962.With the Lionettes she helped win the 1962 ASA national title and earned All-America recognition (primarily as a first baseman). She spent two seasons with the Raybestos Brakettes (1963–64), leading the team in batting with averages of .372 and .340, then returned to the Lionettes through 1975.
Career highlights as a player include:
- 16 ASA National Championship appearances
- Member of 5 national championship teams (and 5 runner-up teams), including titles with the Lionettes (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970) and Brakettes (1963)
- 11-time ASA All-American (some sources count up to 12 selections)
With the Lionettes over a nine-year span she hit .298 (613 hits in 2,055 at-bats), scored 322 runs, and hit 16 home runs while ranking among the league’s top defensive first basemen.
Coaching Career
Topley transitioned into coaching while still active as a player. From 1967 to 1972 she coached the Orange Lionettes to a 389-67-3 record (.853 winning percentage). In that span the team won two ASA national titles (1969 and 1970), seven Pacific Coast Women’s League titles, and a silver medal at the 1970 ISF Women’s World Championship.
She later coached other ASA teams (including the Orange County Majestics, who won the 1987 Women’s Major Fast Pitch national title) and served as an assistant at Cal Poly Pomona. Starting in 1990 she joined the U.S. Women’s National Team coaching staff and remained involved for years. She was part of two Olympic gold medal-winning delegations (1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney), plus a 1990 ISF Women’s World Championship gold and Pan American Games gold medals (including 1991, 1995, and the late 1990s).
Honors
- Inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 1981 (Women’s Fast Pitch category)
- Orange County Hall of Fame (1991)
- BC Sports Hall of Fame (1998, multi-sport)
- Dick Pollak Memorial Award (1990) for contributions to women’s softball
