Background / History for the Pioneers Softball Team.
By: John Wall

The Columbus Pioneers were founded in 1991. They were the 4^th organized wheelchair softball team in the state of Ohio and to this day are the only team in the state..

During the Pioneers’ inaugural year they had 21 athletes participating with a various range of disabilities including post polio, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, amputees and spinal bifida.

Our first year was very tough and really tested our desire to continue on with the game in the future.  We never won a game out first year and several games were won by the mercy rule of 10 or more runs ahead after 5 innings.  Nerveless our goal was to participate in The National Tournament.  Our first game in the tournament, we played the number one team in the nation only to be beaten by a score of 32-0.  Of course this was an embarrassment to all of us. But nonetheless, everyone was talking how better we would be the following year this was the beginning of bigger and better things to come.

The following year we got a new coach who had never coached wheelchair softball, but had coached able body ball and things did start getting better.  Although our second year was a repeat of our first year as far as wins and losses the team had grown and started to gel. Together we were making plays that would not have even been considered in 1991 and the runs scored against us were fewer.  We still had 21 players and interest was starting to gain in the community. We were able to recruit some new team members and in 1993 finished 5^th in the nation in DIVISION 2 of the National Tournament. Until 2001 the Pioneers remained in DIVISION 2 at which time we merged with a team from Toledo and finished 2nd in the nation in DIVISION 1.  The following year our team split, with 7 major players from the Pioneers joining the team from Toledo with hopes of winning a national title.  This did not happen. The best the Toledo team ever finished was 2^nd using the Columbus players. This split definitely hurt the strength of the Pioneers and it was almost like starting over again. But we still had some of the original players from 1991 that wanted to keep the team together.  In 2005 The Pioneers finished 3rd in the nation with a rebuilt team in DIVISION 2.  Last year, 2006, The Pioneers regained a couple of their former players from the Toledo team and the team finished 5^th in DIVISION 1 showing great maturity, desire to win, and perseverance. 

The Pioneers have successfully hosted THE NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT twice, in 2001 and 2005.