Softball has always been a popular sport in Nova Scotia. Great teams have come from many areas of the province, but the ladies inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame have a record which would be the envy of any and all in the province. Between 1946 and 1949 four consecutive City championships and two consecutive Maritime titles. Over a four year span the Halifax Arcade Ladies Senior softball team won 90 of the 98 games it played, including an incredible 60 straight games. In 1946 “Sis” McCloskey led the league with a .553 batting average, but six of the other top ten hitters were also from the Arcade team. Most valuable payer, most stolen bases, and best pitcher were all awards which confirmed both the depth and excellence of this scrappy team.

Early in 1946 when Bill Hayes strolled into 491 Barrington Street, the site of Norm Cappell’s Arcade Ladies’ Wear, located between Prince and George Street, he could not know what was in store for him. He had agreed to coach a ladies softball team and was now seeking a sponsor. Cappell agreed and the rest is history. The first year gave some indication of what lay ahead. The team beat Simpson’s Mail Order for the City title and then, in the deciding game at Berwick, before a record crowd of 2,500, scored five runs in the last inning to defeat the Berwick Foresters and advance against Amherst Stella Maris and finally to challenge Truro Printers Slugs for the Maritime title. The Truro ladies proved to be no slugs as they swept Arcade to obtain the Maritime crown. In 1947 there were few dull moments. Behind the stellar pitching of Lily Snow and fifteen-year-old Cecelia Purcell, the team roared into the City championship undefeated. However, in the second game of the playoffs, Metropolitan Stores upset the defending champions to force a third game. Such was the tension following the second game that extra police were present for the deciding tilt. They weren’t needed as Arcade won a yawner, 16-0. In the provincial playdowns the team struggled, requiring three games against both Berwick and Amherst before advancing against arch rival Truro Slugs. On the North Common they won the first game 3-2 and then travelled to Truro and defeated the Slugs to capture their first Maritime title.

In 1948 the Arcade Ladies commenced their incredible winning streak. They won the City championship without a loss and then swept Dartmouth Jewellers, Berwick Brunetts and Amherst Red Wings to retain the Maritime title. The winning streak was at twenty-six. The following year the team was still flawless when they again faced the Truro Slugs for the Maritime title. At Halifax they won 9-8 for their sixtieth win. However, on Saturday, September 10, 1949, the streak and Maritime reign ended as they were swept 9-7 and 14-5. The incredible run was over. Years later Bill Hayes would fondly recall the Halifax Arcade Ladies Senior Softball team as one of his great sporting adventures. He took particular pride in the success of the members of the team and proudly noted that three members of the team went into religious orders. A team that set unsurpassed records and put ladies softball on the map – worthy inductees in the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.

Members of the team were: Audrey Burke, Marie (Sis) Collier, Jean Cormier, Mary Cormier, Barbara (Babs) Frain, Jean Guest, Joan Guest, Bill Hayes (coach), M. Hayes (manager), Jadie (Wheaton) Innes, Violet (Hughes) Kellythorne (mascot), Edith MacGlashen, Helen MacLeod, Ena (Roemer) Messervey, Cecelia (Dryden) Purcell, Trudy Purcell, Marion (MacDougall) Schmeisser, Jean Shupe, Cecelia Small, Lily Snow (captain, manager), Jean (Saxton) Surette, Ethel White, Gladys White.

 Bio courtesy of Allan Dunlop