A Saskatchewan native, Ralph Ens came to Winnipeg at age 19. In his first season, he pitched for Dow Kings of the Winnipeg Senior A Men’s League and was named team MVP. That was the beginning of a pitching career that saw him develop into the dominant pitcher in our province. He pitched for Manitoba in the 1969 Canada Summer Games and in several Softball Canada senior men’s championships. In 1972 with the K&A Knights, Ens was the MVP in the Canadian senior men’s championship. The following season, he led Winnipeg Colonels to the first Western Canadian Fastball League championship. As the pitching ace of the Colonels during the 1970s when the WMFL received extensive coverage in the media, Ens became the province’s best-known softball player. During the 1980s, he was a member of Manitoba teams that won gold, silver and bronze medals in the Western Canada masters fast pitch championship.