Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697646703550.pdf (Bahamas)
Edward Leon “Apache” Knowles Member of the National Hall of Fame Class of 2008 (1938-1998) Edward Leon “Apache” Knowles found inspiration in the time tested proverb that success is a ladder you cannot climb with your hands resting aimlessly in your pock- ets.

In fact his subscription to such a philosophy of self-help is what ensured that he would succeed in scaling any ladder he was required to climb in the pursuance of the regal promises of his enchanted life.
Indeed, the personal industry acquired in the early days of his youth in Simms, Long Island served him so well in developing a profound appreciation for due diligence, attention to detail and the importance of punctuality.

Apache harnessed these personal qualities into tools which he used to develop his natural talents as an athletes, and once having mastered them, he employed them to fabricate a generating of young baseball and softball players into, na- tional team players and international stars.
His progression in this regard originated with exposure to baseball and softball while a student-athlete at Western Junior and Senior Secondary Schools.

This allowed him to benefit from observing the daily practices sessions of this country’s finest players at the adjoining Government Grounds later referred as Southern Recreation and now Archdeacon William Thompson Park.
In respect of Apache’s natural leadership inclination to attempt the most difficult took, the position which attracted him was catcher, allowing him to guide and control the active field of play.
Such a position allowed him to obtain a unique in- sight into the game, further providing him with the credentials to mastermind the successes of the local clubs that he was recruited to manage and the international teams he spearheaded in the wake of the rise to power of Bahamian softball within the international community.
Among Apache’s first managerial assignment was the task to coordinate the progress of a team of young and talented collection of young boys in the old St. Michael’s constituency, represented by the late George Mackey, Member of Parlia- ment for that constituency during the early 1970’s.

That St. Michael’s junior league baseball evolved into a championship team, subsequently evolving into the Old Spice which also entered teams Senior league in baseball.
The respect which Apache garnered for coaching at that level sufficiently attracted the attention of the National Softball Federation which invited him to higher responsibilities as the manager of men’s national Teams at the Caribbean Softball Championships in 1977 when the Bahamas won the Gold medal, a feat repeated in 1979 and again in 1982.
Apache’s successes extended to the world level when he led The Bahamas to its best results at that apex when his management skills caused The Bahamas to become the # 3 softball country in the world, finishing with a Bronze Medal at the 1980 World Fast Pitch Tournament in Tacoma, Washington.

Such successes were sufficiently notable to cause him to be inducted into the International Softball Federation’s Hall of Fame in 1988, becoming the first Bahamian to achieve such an accolade.
His thirty years of voluntary service to the young softball and baseball players were thereby applauded by his peers and colleagues from around the world.

Apache must therefore be recognized for the trail-blazing work he undertook to improve the fortunes of Bahamian soft- ball.

He therefore distinguished himself as a sports administrator who climbed the ladder of success by the intelligent use of his own hands.