2007 DWASF AWARDS Wilma Rudolph Courage Award

Louise McGinniss

The DWASF Wilma Rudolph Courage Award honors a Delaware female athlete of any age who has overcome adversity and demonstrated extraordinary courage in athletic performance. Criteria also include the ability to overcome adversity through persistence and determination and possession of qualities consistent with the ideals of ethical conduct in sports.

Louise McGinniss graduated from Conrad High School in 1959. She married her sweetheart since 8th grade Walter McGinniss in 1961. They have a daughter Kim and a son Ken and two grandsons, John & Shane Burns. Louise played sports all through school: field hockey, basketball and softball. At graduation in both Jr. high school and high school, she received the Girls Athletic Award. In school she also played softball for a church team. After graduation she went to work for the DST Co. and played Industrial League Basketball and Softball. She played softball for a city team. And in one game, she pitched a no hitter in the championship game to help her team win it. She also had the honor of pitching at Baynard Stadium in an exhibition game against The King and his Court. When raising her children, Louise played a lot of softball and bowled. She belonged to the Wilmington Turners and entered national bowling tournaments which would 6 to 8 weekends.

In 1989, she won the National All-Events Award. She also bowled in a major league for years and had a high game of 289. When her daughter was old enough to play Little League Softball, she started coaching, and hen late at St. Elizabeth Elementary School, and also helped with St. Elizabeth and St. Anthony’s high school pitchers. She went to work again when she was 42 and ended up playing softball at work in a Co-Ed League. Around 48, Louise was playing and went to run to first bas and her left leg could hardly move. She realized there was a problem because when she was walking or jogging, she was stumbling and falling a lot. She went to the doctors and after a lot of testing, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Louise still kept trying to do things, but the MS was getting the best of her. She decided to go out on disability. The MS Society offered a Water Exercise class, which she jumped at. The water seemed to make her feel so much better. Then she took swimming lessons at the Fraim Boys Club. She and her husband moved to the beach in 1999 and joined the Sussex YMCA where she continued with swimming lessons, joined yoga and worked out in the weight room. She decided to enter the DE Senior Olympics in swimming. Well, in eight years she has earned numerous medals, gold, silver and bronze.