Elkhart's Galloway a softball legend

Bill Galloway was a baseball player at Elkhart High School before graduating in 1964 and wanted to be a basketball coach after high school.

“They got all the headlines,” Galloway said about basketball coaches. “They wore a suit and tie and I thought that was cool too.”

Dennis Foster also thought Galloway could be a good basketball coach. Foster and Galloway knew each other through working together at Adams and Westlake Company and from playing softball together.

“We were running around together and he encouraged me about going to college and get into basketball coaching,” Galloway said.

“Dennis was the head boys basketball coach at Westview High School and younger brother of Dean, who was a boys basketball coach in Elkhart and at Penn. I was classmates with Dean at Elkhart. Dennis talked me into going to college. He told me I could be an assistant coach at Westview after I was done at Indiana University. I said, ‘OK’. I had every intention to be the next Bobby Knight.”

Instead, Galloway’s career took a completely different path.

Galloway, who didn’t start attending college until he was 28 years old, became an assistant softball coach at Indiana University in 1976 as a sophomore.

It was the start of a 50-year softball coaching career for the now-80-year old Galloway.

“They knew I played and coached softball some and they asked me if I wanted to be an assistant (softball coach) there,” Galloway said about what led to him getting a softball coaching job for the Hoosiers.

“I stayed in it and fell in love with it.”

What followed after his coaching stint at Indiana, were softball head coaching jobs at Texas A&M in 1979 and Louisiana Tech in 1982. After 20 years he retired from Louisiana Tech. But Galloway wasn’t done with his softball coaching career, as he became the pitching coach at Bossier Community College and the assistant head coach at East Texas Baptist University.

At Texas A&M, Galloway won 208 games and had a .813 winning percentage. The program made three appearances in the Women’s College Softball World Series.

While at Louisiana Tech, Galloway totaled 705 wins, made NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the Women’s College World Series three times.

In his time at East Texas Baptist, the program won the NCAA III National Championship in 2010 and 2024, Also at the school, Galloway reached 1,000 career wins in 2023.

Galloway is currently the Associate Head Coach at East Texas Baptist University, which is located in Marshall, Texas where Galloway currently lives.

“Marshall, Texas is 40 minutes west of Shreveport, Louisiana,” Galloway said.

“When I retired from Louisiana Tech I got a call from East Texas Baptist and their coach Mike Reed,” Galloway said. “We had been to a couple of clinics together. He said they were looking for a pitching coach and he wanted to know if I would help them a little bit on a part-time basis. I said, ‘sure’. I started the process from there.

“After Mike left and took the head coaching job at the University of Texas at Tyler, a young lady Janae Shirley took over and she asked me if I would move into their staff full-time. One thing led to another and I’m still there.

“She’s done a fantastic job there and I couldn’t be more blessed. I love it at East Texas Baptist.”

Galloway’s coaching career began in 1974 when he led the Elkhart Komets girls’ softball team.

“When I started playing softball in Elkhart, Buz Swathwood was instrumental in sponsoring sports and he started that Komets team,” Galloway said.

“Buz passed away in the winter of 1973 and the team didn’t know what to do. They asked me if I would be interested in coaching that team because I had played softball and coached.”

In high school, Galloway took a different direction when it came to sports, but he was laying the groundwork for a career in softball.

“Like everyone else I wanted to be a basketball player in high school,” Galloway said. “But I was only 5-6 and I didn’t have the ability to play basketball. I wasn’t into football and baseball became my passion sport.

“After I was done in high school I played American Legion baseball for another year. Everything then transitioned over into into fast-pitch softball for me. The game of softball was tailor made for me.”

Galloway took the Komets job and had a very talented fast-pitch softball team made up of players from high school and college.

“I was interested in taking the job if they gave me 10 players to do it,” Galloway said. “It was open women’s softball and high school kids were competing against 25 to 30-year old ladies. It was interesting but everyone did a great job.

“So many of our young girls were from different high schools, so I didn’t want to start a feud. I came up with the color purple and called the team the Komets.

“We had some great kids on the team. Three or four of them we recruited to come to Indiana University. Some of the players made it into the Elkhart County Hall of Fame.”

Did Galloway like coaching at the start?

“I really did,” he said. “I had never seen a women’s fast-pitch softball game. When Buz asked me to come over and help with the women’s team I said, ‘Oh gosh’, watching those women athletes. My mouth fell open I realized they could really play. I was really impressed. The women also wanted to get coached and get better.”

Because of his tremendous success as a softball coach, Galloway has received numerous honors. He is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Galloway is also a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics and East Texas Baptist University Athletics Hall of Fame. He also holds an honorary Doctorate Degree from East Texas Baptist.

“Good kids and good players make good coaches,” Galloway said.

Galloway was asked how much longer the marriage will last between him and softball coaching?

“Ninety percent is on your health,” Galloway said. “Right now I feel good. I can get around and still hit a ground ball every once in awhile.

“My boss (Janae Shirley) will also decide when I’m too old and should retire. But I hope to hang in there for another year or two.

“I’ve been very blessed.”