In 1986, Rosemary Adey was awarded an Order of the Medal of Australia for her remarkable service to softball.
It is rare air indeed to be recognised in an international sport hall of fame.
Rosemary Adey is a member of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 for leadership that made Australia one of the world leaders in softball.
Six years earlier, she was named to the Softball Australia Hall of Fame for her leadership here. And in 2009, Rosemary Adey was the first inductee into Softball SA’s Hall of Fame.
So, what was it that made this woman such a recognised figure across Australia and the world?
Rosemary Adey was player #24 on the national team – a dynamic first base woman and powerful batter. She played five games for Australia – a 1954 series against NZ and 1960 against South Africa.
Concurrently, she was vice-captain, captain and later coach of SA’s senior softball team: 1955-1963. She was also selected as the SA Sportswoman of the Year in 1957.
In 1952, at the young age of 19, she was elected vice-president of the SA Softball Association and remained so for 16 years. Her competence to lead was showing itself from an early age.
At age 29, she took on the presidency of SA Softball. She led the taskforce to host the IV ISF Youth World Softball Championships in Adelaide in 1991.
She led the funding submission to the Office Sport & Recreation resulting in the establishment of the West Beach International Diamond and associated infrastructure.
Her administrative leadership continued an upward trajectory, elected as Softball Australia vice-president and then president in 1982 for 17 years. She held dual leadership roles in both SA and Australia.
Next, she was elected as International Softball Federation President – Oceania. In November 2001, she retired her position on the ISF Board after 51 years of service to softball.
In 1986, Rosemary Adey was awarded an Order of the Medal of Australia for her remarkable service to softball.
