Fred Jackson – Builder

Inducted October 22, 2005

The contribution of countless hours within the sporting population shows great honour, dignity, and leadership. Fred Jackson has made a significant contribution to the sport of softball as an athlete, coach, administrator and volunteer at the local, provincial and national levels. In 1991, the year he retired from the game of softball because of a career move and starting a family, Fred became the first Newfoundlander to win Softball Canada’s Coach of the Year Award. At the national level, he has coached nine national championships and has won five medals along with a fourth place finish at the 1989 Canada Summer Games. In the nine national championships, Fred posted an outstanding 60 wins and 23 losses. Provincially, he has coached teams to 21 provincial championships and has won a championship in every minor and junior softball category. At the age of 14 he started a minor softball program with just three teams. This program eventually grew to comprise over 500 players and became known as the Higher Levels Minor Softball Association and included the construction of three softball fields. Throughout his coaching career Fred has coached some of the best softball players to ever come out of Newfoundland and Labrador. He has chaired organizing committees for ten provincial championships as well as an Eastern Canadian Championship. In 1986, he became the youngest person to be inducted into the St. John’s Softball Hall of Fame. He has many more accolades to his credit including Softball Newfoundland and Labrador Minor Executive of the Year along with an induction into the Softball Newfoundland and Labrador Hall of Fame. He has also made a tremendous contribution to the promotion of sport in the province as a volunteer, sports reporter and sports editor. Fred was married to his wife Beatrice and had five daughters.