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Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui says goodbye to Mr Softball

By James Baker
Whanganui Chronicle·
23 Mar, 2017 06:40 AM3 mins to read

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Don Brewer in 2008 shows he's still got the stuff. Mr Brewer devoted his life to Softball. Photograph by Stuart Munro.

Don Brewer in 2008 shows he's still got the stuff. Mr Brewer devoted his life to Softball. Photograph by Stuart Munro.

Whanganui said goodbye to Don Brewer last week, the man who brought softball back to the River City.

Mr Brewer founded the Braves Softball Club in 1956, and this lead to a "golden age" in Whanganui softball, according to co-founder and team-mate Ross Francis.

"There had been something of a recession in the sport, and he basically got softball going again."

There were other clubs at the time, and the competition created by the Braves Club pushed the sport to a new level.

"The founding of the Braves Club sort of brought up the rest in Whanganui," Mr Francis said.

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"Its not like it is now. The rivalry was very strong - back then softball was a major sport here."

Over the next decade Whanganui would go on to produce world class players like chief umpire and New Zealand national team player Charlie Phillips.

Mr Brewer was also a very strong competitor and was known as the New Zealand national team's ace first base catcher.

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"He would have been known as one of the top all-time players in the country," said Mr Ross.

He was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to Whanganui sport; the Distinguished Service Award from New Zealand Softball and a place in the NZ Softball Hall of Fame.

He was also a police detective and known as a man with a strong personality.

"He was well known around town by both the police and the crims," said Mr Francis.

Mr Brewer would push wayward youths towards the softball club. He believed that sport had the power to turn their lives around.

"He would encourage some of the young ones who got into a bit trouble to play the sport, some older guys as well. I think it generally made better people out of them."

The father of four was a dedicated family man, his daughter-in-law Glenys Brewer said.

"Don't ask me how many grandchildren he has - it's a pile."

His wife Lou Brewer was also dedicated to the sport of softball, first playing in Whanganui and then coaching children and working as a registered scorer.

"He and her were a team," said Mrs Brewer, who was close to her father-in-law - a man who made sure she felt part of the family.

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"When we were in Auckland, he took me around in the police car and said to me, 'Now I'm going to tell you where you can go and where you can't go - some places are no good'. He watched my back."

Mr Brewer was also a strong soccer player, representing New Zealand at national level.
He moved to Auckland in the last few years of his life, and died aged 94 in Howick Baptist Hospital, Auckland, on March 16 surrounded by friends and family.

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