'Bo' Willis recalled as fastpitch wizard.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Remembered fondly by friends and families at his memorial service Friday, the legendary pitching exploits of Robert `Bo' Willis came back to life for contemporaries who played against him, and those who learned from him or saw him during his decades of being associated with fastpitch softball.

`Truly, he was the greatest men's fastpitch pitcher to ever come out of the Northwest,' said Karen Meats, herself a member of softball halls of fame for the state and region.

Willis, who died earlier this week at the age of 90, was the initial inductee in 1980 into the Oregon ASA Hall of Fame. He is also in the Northwest Hall of Fame for softball.

Research done by Meats found that Willis pitched nearly 1,600 games, threw some 300 no-hitters and at least 12 perfect games. More than once, his perfection extended to striking out all 21 batters he faced in a seven-inning game.

After his introduction to the game as a teenager, Willis pitched for some 40 years, competing when men's fastpitch was in its most popular era, with teams sponsored by companies and towns throughout the country. Few made their mark like Willis.

`Bo could have thrown against anybody,' said Hank Mako, who played for Portland teams that competed against Willis.

In fact, Willis did face the very best, once pitching a Eugene team to a victory over the famed touring team The King and His Court, which was built around the incomparable Eddie Feigner.

In a later interview, Feigner listed Willis among a handful of pitchers he considered comparable to himself.

Teams that Willis pitched for won 15 state championships and three regional titles.

On at least two occasions, Willis was named the outstanding pitcher and top hitter at the state tournament.

Mako said Willis rarely was able to compete at national tournaments because `as good as Bo was, he didn't have the team behind him that could compete with (teams from) Seattle or Portland.'

Mako said other teams in the region attempted to lure Willis away from Eugene, but he remained loyal to his local teams that were built around him.

`You didn't go anywhere without a pitcher,' said Frank Mako, Hank's brother and also a standout in the sport.

Eugene teams that had Willis were competitive on a regional basis for one reason, he added: `They had Bo. That was the key.'

Mel Krause, who played and coached baseball at the University of Oregon and had a lengthy professional career, recalled that while in college he was also on a fastpitch softball team in Eugene.

`I wanted to see the difference,' Krause said. `It really helped my baseball. After that (softball experience), when I got up to bat in baseball, it seemed like it took forever for a baseball to get there.'

Krause said batting against Willis, who was reputed to be able to throw the ball in excess of 100 mph, was one of the most difficult assignments he ever undertook in the sport.

`He had the fastball, the rise, the drop and the change-up,' Krause said. `He could just overpower you, and then he'd throw that change-up. He had me so fooled one time I about threw my back out when I corkscrewed into the ground because he threw that change on me.'

Meats, who sought out information on Willis for a magazine article she wrote when he was the initial inductee into the Oregon hall, also had memories of being one of many pitchers who learned from him.

She was also able to see Willis pitch late into his career.

`He pitched until he was 58; he kept coming out of retirement,' Meats said. `What was so cool was he'd go out there with that gray hair, and he still had a swagger about him.

`Those young studs thought he would be a rollover for them. They couldn't touch him.'

Opponents also were impressed, however, by the sportsmanship Willis displayed despite his reputation as the consummate competitor.

`He was always tough and gritty, but what a good sport,' said Hank Mako, a softball hall of famer as a player and umpire. `If you lost a game, he knew it wasn't the end of the world. If you beat him, it was probably 1-0, but when the game was over, it was over.

`He never blamed anybody for a loss, which almost put him in a category by himself. He'd tell the guys, `we did the best we could, but nobody's perfect,' and that was the end of his speech.'

A year ago, Krause took Willis to a fundraising banquet put on by the Lane Community College baseball team, and the legendary softball pitcher was introduced to a standing ovation as his exploits were recounted.

`He had tears in his eyes, and he told me, `Mel, I can't believe this,' ' Krause said. `I told him, `Bo, you've earned that respect.' '