On October 30, 2021, 90-year-old Elwyn Mensink of Preston was inducted into the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame, Pioneers of Yesterday category. He is shown above with his award and, on the right, in his ball playing years.
Mensink began his fastpitch softball career in 1945, at the age of 13. He played third base, left field, and pitched a bit for the Old Timers team (ages early 20s to early 30s) of Greenleafton. By age 15, Elwyn was a regular pitcher for the team. He played for Greenleafton and Preston and played his first state tournament in 1951 with Dick Koliha, Porter Broadwater, Giles Broadwater and others on the Preston team. His brother Wendell Mensink was on the roster, but did not play at state.
Elwyn was drafted into the Army in 1952, serving in France. He played softball there for a base camp team. A highlight while pitching for the Army was when an Army traveling All Star team stopped at his camp for a “tuneup” game on the way to a big tournament. Elwyn pitched against them and his team won. That earned him the title of regular pitcher for his Army team. Elwyn had returned home, again playing for Greenleafton, when he got a “recruitment” call from Maynard Hovden of Cresco, who he played against in France. Elwyn then began pitching for a talented team from Cresco.
The Austin Moose Lodge (sponsored by Hormel) manager asked Elwyn to pitch for them in tournaments. After doing so for a few tournaments, three men in suits showed up at Elwyn’s farm and offered him a job as a hog buyer, with the stipulation that he pitch full-time for the team. Elwyn declined, as he and his wife Eileen had just begun farming.
In 1958 Elwyn added playing for Ostrander to his schedule, with Darrel Thorson, Morris Turbenson, Jim Berning, Chuck Berning, Gary Kohn, Tony Scaglione, Wayne Hanson, his brother Lyall Mensink, Bill Foster, Dick King and Danny King. Many times, a couple of players would help him bale hay so he could get to a game on time.
The teams Elwyn played on never won a state tournament, but he played in eight Minnesota state tournaments: one with Preston, one with Greenleafton, five with Ostrander, and one with Austin’s Moose Lodge.
Elwyn was a sidewinder pitcher for fastpitch softball. His pitches were fastball, changeup, and his best pitch was a riseball. After playing for 25 years, Elwyn retired from softball after the 1970 season, at the ripe old age of 38.
Photos submitted
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