In the tradition of T. C. McCall in the 1930s, and Otto King in the 1940s, the late Howard M. Showers was the Simcoe Reformer sports editor of the 1950s. And in his day, local amateur sports' biggest booster.

Ask his peers about this Simcoe native and you might learn how shy and hard of hearing he was, that he and his wife Valerie seldom missed a Baptist church service, or that he was always hurrying along the sidewalk as he didn't drive.

Ask the next  generation however, and you're likely to learn he was usually hurrying from one sports venue to another. For years only scheduling conflicts could get Howard to miss a game between 'his kids.'

Joan Pond Daley might tell you that not even scheduling conflicts  stopped Howard. Noticing she attended her brothers George and Wilf's games, Howard taught Joan to keep score and take reporter's notes, so he could debrief her after a game and report the contest.

His column, Sprinklings on Sports by Showers, provided the facts, and in the McCall/King tradition, the color, that brought local sports coverage to life. It may not be too bold to say he was the  amateur sport booster of the 1950s, taking in games in Waterford, Jarvis, cheering Norfolk's amateurs on wherever they played. 

"A quiet man who never asked anything of anyone but took pride in supporting the teams, players and coaches," is how Doug MacDonald remembered Howard. (How shy was he? Count the photos accompanying this profile.) 

Howard's coverage of the 1952-53 Simcoe Gunners (OHA Intermediate "A" Champions) and the  Simcoe Giants (Simcoe's first OBA Intermediate "A" Champions) in particular brought the games alive again for his readers, whether they got to the games or not.

Howard married later in life and didn't have any kids of his own. Instead he adopted everyone else's -- at least for the duration of the ball or hockey game. Even in retirement, there he was in the stands cheering all the teams on.

"Just a wonderful man," recalled Bell Pond. "He was one of the team -- every team, helping the kids at every turn. The kids all loved and respected Howard. Sometimes it seemed they were playing for him."

Howard was inducted into our Sports Hall of Recognition in 2002.