A native Victorian and youngest of five, Mike tragically lost his father in 1976 and the many changes in his life that year resulted in Mike joining a group of friends playing fast pitch softball.

Beginning as an outfielder, he quickly became interested in pitching. His dedication to fitness and his strong work ethic, shaped by his father, quickly propelled him to become one of the topleft-handed pitchers in the game. Mike also credits Ron Hill, his coach for the first six years, as making his remarkable career possible.“Ron was especially valuable to me during the difficult months following my father’s death. He always encouraged me during those tough times. He was a good coach and became a father figure to me.”

Mike honed his skills in Victoria’s Stuffy McGinnis League (which produced many of Canada’s National Team players) before playing top-level fast pitch in New Zealand in 1983-84.In 1984, he returned to join the defending National Champion Victoria Royals, where he was mentored by superstar Rob Guenter who helped prepare him for much of his success to follow.

As a left-hander, he was a huge asset in a game of predominantly right-handers. In 1985, Mike was recruited to play for The Farm of Madison, Wisconsin. With Rocky Vitale catching, he pitched a record four perfect games at the International Softball Congress World Tournament and established himself as one of the game’s elite pitchers. Mike returned to Victoria in 1990 and over the next 18 years played for numerous Canadian and American club teams. He was most proud when playing for Canada’s National Team, which he considered an honour.

Mike says that he was blessed with the best catchers in the game. “Without my catchers - Doug Chase, Tim Wahl, Rocky Vitale, Gary Bachus - I wouldn’t have had such consistency in my game and I willingly and gratefully share my accolades with them.”

Mike has won four Canadian Championship Gold medals and numerous awards including Top Pitcher, Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player. Some of his major accomplishments included pitching six games in two days to win Gold (1991), winning Gold and pitching with an earned run average of 0.00 (1992) and pitching back-to-back perfect games (1993). He has also won two USA National Championships (1993, 1996) and won top pitcher honors in both. He is the current record holder for most strike-outs (140) in a US National Championship tournament (1988). Other career milestones include a 20-inning 46-strikeout game (1988 USA Nationals) and pitching four perfect games within three weeks (1993).

Mike was a valuable member of Canada’s National team from 1987 to 1999. Highlights include winning two Gold medals at the Pan American Games (1995, 1999) and Silver at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championships (1996).

Mike resides in Victoria with his wife, Heather, and sons Lucas and Caleb. He has been inducted into the Softball BC (2006), U.S. Fastball (2009), Softball Canada (2012) and ISF (2014) Halls of Fame.

SPONSORED BY VICTORIA HARBOURCATS