Claude Gagnon began coaching softball in a church league in 1948 and then moved to industrial and senior league competition. The greatest success of his 23-year softball coaching career came when his Kiewel Seals/Manitoba Clothing team won the Winnipeg Senior A League championship five times and finished second twice between 1958 and 1965. In 1969 he coached the Manitoba men’s team in the first Canada Summer Games and was the co-coach of the provincial junior girls team at the 1973 Canada Summer Games. Always interested in promoting the sport, he conducted clinics across the province, was a leader in bringing various leagues under the Softball Manitoba umbrella, and served as president of the provincial association in 1968-69. Gagnon, who passed away in 2001, will be inducted in the all-around category to acknowledge his overall contributions to softball in Manitoba.