Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
For years, slowpitch softball was a flourishing sport in Havre and across the state of Montana. The fields of the Havre Softball Complex were routinely packed with both players and fans, participating in a sport that was supremely popular among middle-aged amateur athletes. The men’s slowpitch softball league teams usually consisted of former high school and college athletes that still yearned for the thrill of competition. In fact, slowpitch softball was so popular that it was simply woven into Havre’s summer society, with local games and tournaments becoming common place. Yet, after the glory years of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, there came a time when the game began to lose its luster. The softball complex, located on Highway 234 just south of Havre began to deteriorate, and all of a sudden, young athletes found better things to do. The number of teams and players began to drop dramatically, causing a once popular sport to become something of an afterthought. “The complex just wasn’t in very good shape anymore,” longtime softball player Kelly Schaffer said. “The fields were really hard and uneven. The stands and the bathrooms weren’t really good it was just kind of falling apart. “Then a lot of the younger kids stopped playing,” he added. “We started losing a lot of teams and it became a lot less competitive than when I first started playing.” Schaffer is one of the many slowpitch softball veterans that has seen both the good times as well as the bad. Schaffer was around during the glory years of the 80s and 90s, when he was apart of two district championship teams in 1989 and 1990, as well as a numerous state tournament teams. “The compeititon used to be a lot better so it meant something to win those district championships and go to state,” Schaffer explained. “But then it got to the point that anyone could go to state as long as they could pay to go.” But just when it appeared that slowpitch softball in Havre was on its last legs, it got filled with a breath of fresh air. Thanks to private donations and a lot of help from the Havre city government, the softball complex was revitalized. The grass in the fields were re-seeded, the bathrooms and stands were remodeled, the old fences in the outfield were replaced and even new concession stands were added just to add the right finishing touch. The Havre complex got a makeover that transformed the outdated facilities into a modern complex offering a new appeal to new players and fans alike. “A lot of things got re-done out there,” John Gertson said. “There were a lot of improvements made and I think that really helped bring some of the popularity back to the game.” Since the renovations to the complex have been completed, there is a new interest in slowpitch softball that simply was not there before. The leagues are adding more teams, and more importantly, many of the new teams feature promising young talent, proving that the high school and college athletes have finally begun to come back to the sport. “I think that there is a lot more interest in slowpitch softball in Havre now,” Gertson said. “And I think a big reason for that is because of what we were able to get done with the field. “I know that we have had at least two new teams join our league this year and hopefully in the next few years we will continue to get more teams and more players to come out and join our league. It’s nice to see. Softball is kind of making a comeback in Havre and not just slowpitch, but all kinds of softball and that is definitely something for us to get excited about.”
