At the Softball SA Hall of Fame presentation night dinner, Lindy Rattigan was poignantly inducted by her son, Scott, himself a star player.
Lindy Rattigan remembers being inducted into the Softball SA Hall of Fame as though it was yesterday.
It was 2019 and such recognition had never dawned in her aspirations. Afterall, the Hall of Fame was for the sport’s very elite, the international superstars.
“I guess I was inducted because I was passionate about something,” she says now with humility.
At the presentation dinner, Lindy Rattigan was formally inducted by her son, Scott, himself a star player.
“The things he said in his speech brought a tear to my eye,” she said. “My parents were also there and my Dad was fighting back tears of pride. And having my grandchildren there also meant so much. I think my family is as proud of the recognition as I am.”
At Glengowrie High, a strong sporting school, she followed on from her early love of softball on and took on the catcher’s position.
“Catching wasn’t as technical as it is now. These days a catcher is much more strategic,” she says. “We didn’t keep a detailed black book on opposition batters, although you had a general idea of batters’ strengths and weaknesses.”
It was a requirement in the late 1970s and 80s that State players umpired the association games, which meant first undertaking umpiring programs and earning badges.
By the age of 19, she was umpiring at A-grade level. For a catcher the move to umpiring was a natural progression. Lindy Rattigan umpired for more than 45 years.
By the mid 1980s, she moved into scoring and by 1988 had reached the highest grade possible in scoring, travelling away with SA’s men’s team. Lindy was fascinated and hungry to learn.
Her reward for excellence and diligence was the appointment as scorer to the Australian Open Softball teams – both the men’s and women’s teams.
She advanced her scoring skills to its highest level and was appointed Softball SA Coordinator of Scoring. She was the recipient of Softball Australia Statistician of the Year in 2010 after also being nominated in 2006 and 07.
Lindy Rattigan doesn’t see herself as a hero, yet indeed she is – an inductee into the Softball SA Hall of Fame along with all the other superstars.
