Ontario pitching legend leaves fastball legacy

One of the greatest pitchers in softball history and certainly the finest southpaw the fastball world has ever seen has died at the age of 78.

A legend in fastball circles, with 10 perfect games, more than 40 no-hitters and a trophy case of provincial and national championships in his illustrious career, Pete ‘Hook’ Landers, who died June 16, had been tossing strikes since he was a 12-year-old boy in South Porcupine, just outside of Timmins.

His fame quickly spread after he moved to Oshawa in the 1960s and his Oshawa Tonys fastball team won numerous provincial championships between 1968 and 1978, including a national championship in 1974, winning several MVP awards along the way.

Landers also earned a silver medal in softball at the 1969 Canada Games – tossing a couple of no-hitters – and twice brought his domination of opposing pitchers to the world stage at the International Softball Congress world championships.

In 1974 he set three provincial fastball records with 27 wins, 13 shutouts and 394 strikeouts and in 2002 was picked by GTA sports writers as one of the top 100 athletes in Toronto in the last 100 years.

Even in 1998, with his best days in his rear-view mirror, he pitched at the Masters level in Cobourg for the Cold Springs Cats, winning the Canadian Championship in St. John, New Brunswick and tossing a no-hitter (natch) in the championship game.

Landers, a resident of Orono since 1985, is a member of four sports hall of fames and has a park named after him in his northern Ontario hometown.

Beyond his own playing days, Landers shared his passion through coaching both fastball and hockey, shaping the lives of many of the young athletes in Durham Region today.

He was predeceased by his wife Patricia (Morris) Landers, his daughter Julia Landers, and his son Michael Landers. He leaves behind his son Paul Landers and daughter-in-law Jennifer, as well as four granddaughters: Marlee, Taylor, Hannah, and Abby.

His life was celebrated Friday at Newcastle Funeral Home and he is buried at Orono Cemetery.