Mike Wolf inducted into the USA Softball Hall of Fame

BISMARCK, ND (KFYR) – Everywhere you look in Mike Wolf’s life you see softball.

“I’ve always said that I don’t think anyone wants to get involved in something and it leads to this,” Wolf said.

Wolf has been tournament director of the world-famous McQuade’s Softball Tournament for more than thirty years, and has been an umpire since he was fifteen. Then he started giving unpaid balls and strikes for his father’s leagues.

“If referees played for money, a lot of people would have quit a long time ago because you don’t make a lot of money as a referee,” Wolf said. “It’s just that you love the game and want to contribute.”

Wolf has contributed more to the game than most people.

“Until I became administratively involved with North Dakota, I didn’t even know a USA Softball Hall of Fame existed, let alone that you could ever get into one,” Wolf said.

He was recently inducted into the USA Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma as part of the 2024 class.

“I’m very humbled by the award because it’s not just about me,” Wolf said. “A lot of people helped me along the way and put me in a position where I could succeed. We all work together to achieve a common goal: making the game of softball better.”

He is only the 55th referee ever inducted, and the fourth person from North Dakota to receive this honor. It is a feat he says he would never have been able to achieve without his late wife Connie and the support of his children.

“It was kind of a family event, and I think when something like that happens, it makes whatever you want to pursue much easier when you have the support of your family,” Wolf said.

Although his photo now hangs in the Hall of Fame, Wolf’s work on the diamond continues.

“You can and you do something like this and someone asked me, ‘What’s next for you?’ I said, ‘Back home, and I’ll start planning the McQuade and planning next year’s season,'” Wolf said. “You just move on and keep doing the things you’re going to do.”

Wolf said he plans to continue directing the McQuade’s Tournament for the foreseeable future.