The History of Waitakere Bears

The Beginnings

To tell the proper story we have to go back a few years before the club was founded in 1950 by Don and Lou Brewer... In March 1945, World War II was still going on and would be for another 6 months. It was at this time that Don arrived in Auckland and was picked up by the Eden Soccer Club with whom he'd remain with to play softball during the summer season. After three seasons of softball, Eden was the top dog in Auckland, with no club even coming close to being competitive. Sensing that the competition needed to grow, Alf Whelan approached Don and asked if he'd help him form the United Club, which they did and where he'd remain for two years; once again becoming the top dog in Auckland softball.

Back in those days, the competition in Auckland was very uneven, so Don decided again that he would start another club. In 1950, after the 1949-1950 season had concluded, Don passed the word around that he was intending to form a club and that anyone who wanted to come under his guidance was quite welcome.

Using an outdated concept by today's standards, he didn't approach any of the top members of other clubs. Instead he wanted individuals who either were in a lower grade or who had never played softball before. Over the winter months people rang Don up and he found enough interested people to form a club. Most of them had never played softball before in their lives, and some had come from lower clubs who wanted to gain more experience, which is exactly what he was looking for.

As a result of this Don wrote to the Auckland Association and told them that he was forming a new club and it would be known as the BEARS SOFTBALL CLUB! The reason for choosing the Bears was quite simple as he was looking through some Russian papers at the time and found a photograph of a bear which he quite liked and after applying to the association, it was agreed that his application would be accepted for affiliation in the new season!

Uniforms

With that out of the way, the next order of business was to determine colours for uniforms so Don again applied to the association so that the Bears proposed colours could be black with white tapes. With the association's approval, his wife Lou, then began making the original uniforms for the Bears over the winter months just in time for the new season!

As the story is told and continuing on where we left off with the history of the Bears, we look at the first couple of seasons and how the club colours went from Black and White to Black and Yellow. As October approached the team was initially placed into the top grade. However, because they hadn't played any relegation games to earn the right to be there, the Bears were forced to play in the Major B grade if they wanted to play at all. This was disappointing but the team moved on.

As the season started, the Bears then received another shock that another club had previously registered the same Black and White colours and a complaint was quickly laid with the Association. Unfortunately there was nothing the Bears could do about it. However, because the club had spent quite a bit of money in making the new uniforms, Don approached the Association to come to some sort of arrangement. It was then agreed between the original club and the association that if the Bears put a white band around the middle of the uniform, then that would be an acceptable, yet temporary fix for the team.

With that out of the way, the team was on the road to better times. In Major B, the Bears conquered everything. In fact, the team was far superior to any other team in that grade and were winning by 10 to 15 runs per game. Not bad for a new found club full of members who came from junior teams and had never played before!

At the conclusion of the first season, the association realised that the Bears were too strong a club to remain in Major B but they still had to play relegation games to gain position in the top grade. At the start of the second season and in the course of a few weeks, the Bears beat several major clubs which put the team automatically into the top division!

At the conclusion of the second season, the team decided it was time to correct the issue of the team colours so there was no confusion as to who the Bears were. In fact a new modern uniform would be required using the same colour for 'trousers and blouse'. Don had heard of some good khaki drill material for sale and so he bought a large quantity at a very cheap price. He then went to a dyeing company and had them dye it black, again, at a very cheap price. As it was a very heavy material that would not wear out or tear, a specialist cutter was required. The Bears approached the head cutter for Corner Mills and for a bottle of whiskey several dozen uniforms were cut out. Between Bears players Norm Chamberlain and Bob Cowley and Don's wife, Lou, the new uniforms were made.

They were all black, of course, and the second colour that has come to define the Bears? Yellow of course! The new uniforms had yellow piping, yellow belt, yellow socks, yellow monogram and a yellow cap which stood out in stark contrast to the black...it was modern, it was unique and it looked impressive!While the Bears uniforms have changed in varying degrees over the years, the Black and Yellow that is the hallmark of the Bears has stood the test of time! And that is how, the Bears uniform became what we know and love today!

Innovators

As we continue to explore the history of the Bears, there's a couple of theme's that continue to ring true 70yrs later! First and foremost, the Bears played because it was fun and they enjoyed it! And second, the Bears made it fun by being resourceful and innovative!

Back in those days equipment was always a problem as softball gear was not readily imported. So Don and Lou applied for an import licence and were granted a lucrative one where they could import gear. First up, they tried to bring in gloves from Australia through a Mr Plopkin and although the glove was well received, there were not many buyers. So they then decided to make softball bats with the wood lathe under their house which proved to be a good money maker as the softball bats they produced were quite the genuine article.

And for their next venture? Night softball! Back then, it was unheard of, but the Bears thought they could make a go of it. At that time the 'soccer people' at Blandford Park had strung overhead lights across the park about 30 feet high with the 'naked bulb' showing. This gave the players a great deal of light so they went down one night and tried it out and found that they could in fact play a game of softball. Senior clubs were then invited to play night softball at Blandford Park on a Tuesday night. Three or four clubs agreed to this and the only rule put in, other than the usual softball rules, was that when a player reached first base, they had to steal second and then steal third while the batter was in the batter's box. This was done to make the game more exciting and it saved any long pauses of a player standing on a base and doing nothing about it. This novel idea of night softball proved very popular, especially with the dew on the grass making sliding rather spectacular! Unfortunately it didn't last long because the soccer which was played under these lights failed and so the lights were removed leaving the teams with nowhere else to go.

Long before this next sport officially took hold in New Zealand, the Bears decided that they would start baseball! To do so they needed a field large enough to play on, so the club approached the Western Springs Speedway and asked if they could use the grass laid in the centre of the track for baseball games on a Saturday night to entertain the public before the races actually started. The speedway agreed and it proved to be quite successful and greatly appreciated by the crowds! However, after four or five weeks the speedway vehicles started taking shortcuts through the grass area, which terribly cut up the field and the teams could no longer continue to play baseball. It was unfortunate and as Don put it, the players liked it and the crowd liked it but the drivers didn't work in with them!

From producing their own bats, to night time softball, to starting up baseball back in the 50's, the Bears were always thinking of new and different ways to raise funds and grow the game. Central to that, they wanted to have fun by making it more entertaining and slide around on dewy grass. There was no thought or care of this softball vs baseball discussion we seem to have from time to time. They lived and pioneered, albeit for a brief time, the novel concept of what we call diamond sports today! Because to our founders, playing on a diamond, whether it was softball or baseball, in the daytime or at night, it meant getting out there on the diamond, having a go and just playing a game with a bat and a ball and their mates!

Seventy Years of Volunteering

We hope you have enjoyed learning about some of the club's history as we enter, this, our 70th Anniversary Season (2019-2020). The Bears, to be around 70yrs plus later, are very fortunate to have had passionate volunteers and great leadership from a core group of people to develop the players and the club.

Don Brewer was central to this as in his own words, 'the team was well trained' and 'each followed the basic principles we laid down'. The Bears were also inclusive right from the early days. Don, while working as a police officer, was called out to investigate a bit of trouble behind the 'orange dance hall at the top of the Symonds Street Park'. It was there that he found a 'big island boy kicking a can around the park'. So Don approached him and asked him if he was interested in playing softball, which the boy readily agreed to despite never having played before. He was big and strong and his name was Bob Cowley or 'Gentleman Bob' as he came to be known. Bob would go on to develop into a pitcher and would later represent Auckland for many years as he was the type of player who could hop on the mound and stay there all day and never get tired.

Other notable players were Warwich 'Wacky' Kiddell, Norm Chamberlain, Shorty Bullen, Jimmy Hermison, Seth 'Mr Duck' Porteous and Auckland Representative player Ron Cochrane. Together, they would become the 'top senior men's club' as Don put it. But it was family that formed the foundation of the Bears, which is what is still prevalent today.

Through the help of player Ed Menzies' father, Bob, the club would become incorporated. The Cochrane's were a strong family unit who, with sons Ian, Ron and Robert and daughter Barbara, would be a cornerstone of the club providing support. During the early years the Bears were closely associated with the Cornwall Club run by Ron Hooper and his wife and his children. As Don put it, 'they did well but unfortunately a lack of players caused the club to fold up.' The Bears would then take in what players remained, which was very fortuitous.

But it all started with Don and Lou Brewer. Don in the scope of New Zealand Softball would become known as the Golden Boy of the sport and was honoured with the Queen's Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Award from NZ Softball and a place in the New Zealand Softball Hall of Fame. It is a legacy that countless Bears have followed earning regional and national representative selection and as a club we continue to be a large presence in the Diamond Sport community.

A big thanks to Vin Styles for passing on this 2008 Herald article about Don Brewer. It is a great read and provides further insight to a legacy we should all be proud of.

'Golden boy' Don's softball legacy a real hit

Photo Credits: Thank you to Cameron Brewer for supplying most of the photos