In Memoriam

May 31, 2017–March 20, 2022

Apologies those who may have been overlooked.

Dill Howell Award

Named after longtime sport enthusiast, Dill Howell, the award in his honor is given an individual who exemplifies Dill Howell’s passion, commitment, and continued support for baseball in the Tacoma-Pierce County community.

Dillard (Dill) Howell was one of the original founders and directors of the Tacoma Athletic Commission which was established in 1943 to promote sports and civic betterment. And, the TAC is the longtime sponsoring organization of the annual Tacoma-Pierce County Baseball-Softball Old-timer’s banquet, an event that Dill worked on regularly.

Dill began his career in the sporting goods business in 1922 as a salesman at Kimball’s Sporting Goods and later became the store manager. In 1936 Kimball’s was sold and Dill founded Howell Sporting Goods which he operated until retirement in 1978. Howell Sporting Goods handled most of the athletic equipment and uniform needs for the area high schools as well as CPS and PLC and Dill was always very supportive of all local sports in the community.

Dill was very instrumental in keeping semi-pro baseball alive in the area and was actively involved in the organization and operation of the Tacoma City League, Industrial League, and Valley League over the years. In many respects, he was the glue that kept these leagues going, always helping the teams out with baseballs, uniforms, bats, gloves and much more. It was a commitment to the sporting community that he made on a consistent basis and it is because of this commitment that the Tacoma-Pierce County Baseball-Softball Oldtimers Association proudly recognizes Dill Howell on an annual basis with this award named on his behalf.