A Tribute to
Ron Collins

This past year has been particularly hard on the Sheboygan Softball Program.  It lost two outstanding individuals that were very instrumental in the development and success of the Sheboygan Softball Association. With the recent passing  of Ron Collins, a real pioneer in the promotion of Women's athletics in general and women's softball in particular, we have lost another giant in our programs for women athletics.  Like the country song goes, "he  loved women's athletics before it was cool to love woman athletics."

Ron did more for women's softball, not only in Sheboygan but throughout the state of Wisconsin and the mid-west from a wheel chair, than others did with two good legs.  His Stars & Stripes Tournament drew teams from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  He has received both National and State wide recognition for his efforts. 

One other little know fact about Ron is that he was the individual that designed the SSA patch and logo shown at the top of this page.

Ronald Collin

Ronald Collins, age 68, residing at 2488 Blue Ridge Circle, Prescott AZ, died on Tuesday, April 13, 2004, after a long bout with polio.

He was born on August 26, 1935 in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from high school, he attended Slippery Rock State College in Pennsylvania. In both high school and college he was an active participant in Track and Field.  After leaving college, he joined the marines in 1954 and was stationed in the Philippines for atomic maneuvers. In October of 1957, he married Gardes Oksa. In 1958 he contacted polio and was discharged from the polio ward in a Chicago hospital in 1959 when they moved to Sheboygan.

In 1964 he was asked to coach the Garton Toy Girls’ softball team.  Although he was wheel chair bound, he became a very active and dedicated coach. After realizing that the team sponsor only paid the entry fee and not equipment or uniforms, he decided to sponsor the team.  His first team was the Collins Polka Dots.  Their name came from the fact that the Penney store had a large supply of polka dotted T-shirts that he purchased as uniform tops.  Years later, he changed the name of the team to Sheboygan Stars and continued to provide all uniforms and equipment for the team.  They played in many different tournaments throughout the state and won several state championships.  Although it took 16 years before he achieved it, one of his proudest moments was when his girls won the city championship.

He was very active in the adult and youth softball program in the Sheboygan area. He was one of the members of the Sheboygan Softball Association (SSA) founding Board of Directors and served in that capacity from 1970 to 1982 when he left Sheboygan for Arizona for health reasons. In those early days, he was the glue that held that organization together. One of his achievements was the establishment of the Stars & Stripes Women’s softball tournament that started as a 4^th of July tournament of 8 teams in 1968 and grew rapidly into one of the best women’s tournament in the mid-west with as many as 32 teams from three different states. Later the SSA took it over in his name. He was the first individual to receive the prestigious Sheboygan Diamond Club Award and also was charter member of the SSA’s Hall of Fame and a member of the Wisconsin Softball Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife, Gardes (Oksa) of 49 years.  They had no children, but Ron always called his former players (over 350) his girls. His body will be cremated in Prescott, AZ

A memorial fund has been established for both the Sheboygan Diamond Club and the SSA.  Contributions may be sent to the Ron Collins Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 514, Sheboygan, WI  53082