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 The
Western Canada Baseball League returned, with Saskatoon back in the loop
to rejoin Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge. Clark
Rex and John Carbray returned to head up league
operations (Rex as league president) and run their clubs in Edmonton and Calgary. Dan
Royer guided the Lethbridge franchise with Howard Lowder as
manager. The Saskatoon franchise was run by the league with
Lyle Olsen (above) back as field manager.
The league decided to
try out some new rules intended to speedup the game.
1)
Pitchers will warm up on the sidelines during an inning, then proceed to
the mound and be ready to start the next inning without throwing
additional warm ups.
2)
With two men out in an inning, a special pinch runner will be allowed to
run for either a pitcher or catcher who is on base. The special
runner, however, must not be one of the other sever players in the game
at that time.
3)
Pitchers will be allowed only 20 seconds between pitches. The base
umpire will time the pitcher.
4)
Teams will not be allowed to throw the ball around the infield after an
out. (Lethbridge Herald, May 25, 1954)
 The
Edmonton Oilers were the class of the circuit winning the pennant and
besting Calgary in the playoff final. The Oilers Louis Smith
(left) captured the
 batting
title with a .344 mark, shading veteran Lyle Olsen, of
Saskatoon, who finished at .341. Gail Hopkins
(right), also of Edmonton, was third, at .337.
Larry
McWhirter of Calgary led the league in homers, with 9, and
doubles, 16. Ted Bridges of Edmonton had the most
runs batted in, 52. Katsu Shitanashi of the Oilers
had 33 stolen bases to top the loop.
Oilers had
two of the top moundsmen. John Pearce led the league
with 10 wins (he lost 6). George Fowlkes finished at
8-4. Phil Capka of Saskatoon was second in wins with
a 9-3 won/lost mark. Rich Johnson and Willie
Walasko of Calgary each won 7 as did Gary Johnson
of Lethbridge.
One of the
leading lights for the Saskatoon Blues was outfielder Fergie Olver
(right) who, twenty years later, would be a television star as a
broadcaster with the Toronto Blue Jays.
18-year-old Greg Conger put on quite a show. When he
arrived near the end of June, Conger put in a couple of long relief
appearances then threw five straight complete games. Then, needed in
relief, he pitched 11 innings of a 20-inning game with just one
day of rest. He returned with another complete game five days
later and in his followings start went ten innings before giving way to
the 'pen. Conger finished with the best ERA, 2.46, and was second in
innings pitched.
1964
marked the end of the Western Canada League and a quality of baseball
not to be seen regularly on the prairies until Medicine Hat, Calgary and
Lethbridge brought pro ball (Rookie level) to the area in the mid
1970s and Edmonton and Calgary joined the Triple-A Pacific Coast League
in the 1980s.
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1964 Stats
1964 Rosters
1964 Tournaments
WESTERN CANADA LEAGUE
Edmonton 37 - 23
Calgary 33 - 27 4.0
Saskatoon 29 - 30 7.5
Lethbridge 20 - 39 16.5
1964 Game
reports
1964 Photo Gallery
1964 Snapshots
1964 Edmonton Oilers
1964 Calgary Giants
1964 Lethbridge Cardinals
1964 Saskatoon Blues
NORTHERN SASK LEAGUE
N Battleford 21 8
Neiburg
20 9 1.0
Kindersley 15 15
6.5
Unity
15 15 6.5
Saskatoon 11 19
10.5
Biggar
7 23 14.5
1964
Game Reports
1964
Photo Gallery
1964
Snapshots
1964
North Battleford Beavers
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
Melville
18 10
Moose
Jaw 16 11 1.5
Regina
15
12 2.5
Swift Current 13 14 4.5
Fort Qu'Appelle 10 17 7.5
Yorkton
9
17 8.0
1964 Game Reports
1964 Photo Gallery
1964 Snapshots
MANITOBA SENIOR LEAGUE
Hamiota Red Sox 15 8
Brandon Cloverleafs 13 11 2.5
Riverside Blues 13 11 2.5
St. Lazare Athletics 13 11 2.5
Souris Cardinals 11 13 4.5
Virden Oilers 10 13 5.0
Dauphin Red Birds 8 16 7.5
* Hamiota beat St. Lazare in the playoff final
to capture its 3rd straight
title.
1964 Game
Reports
1964 Photo
Gallery
1964 Snapshots
1964 St.
Lazare Athletics
1964 Virden
Oilers
NORTHEASTERN SK LEAGUE
NESBL
History
NORTH PEACE LEAGUE
Peace River Stampeders, Falher Leths,
Donnelly Cubs,
1964 Photo Gallery
1964
Snapshots
1964 Peace River
Stampeders
INTERCOUNTY LEAGUE
London Pontiacs
19 13 (a)
Galt Terriers 18 14 1
Guelph C-Joys 17 15 2
Stratford Chiefs 16 14 2
K-Waterloo Panthers 12 18 6
Brantford Red Sox 11 19 7
(a) Playoff for 1st
1964 Game Reports
1964 Photo Gallery
BASIN LEAGUE
Sturgis 31 19
Pierre 27 23 4
Sioux Falls 26 24 5
Valentine 25 25 6
Rapid City 21 28 9.5
Winner 19 30 11.5
Sioux Falls defeated Valentine
in the playoffs to win the Basin
League championship.
1964 Game/Playoff
Reports
1964 Photo Gallery
1964 Snapshots
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 Melville
Millionaires rode the arms of Cliff Mein and Tommy
Taylor to the pennant in the Southern League. Each appeared in
15 games (to lead the league) . Mein won 7, Taylor 6. Taylor
also provided some punch at the plate finishing 5th in the batting race,
at .337. However, the Millionaires were knocked out in the
first round of the playoffs as the Regina Red Sox captured the crown behind
the hurling of Wally Blaisdell (right) who registered four
wins and a tie in five playoff encounters.
Ed Stefureak of the Red Sox won the batting title with a .389
mark and tied for the lead in home runs, with 6. Teammate Larry
Bachiu was the runner-up at .385 with Lorne Humphreys
of the Moose Jaw Regals third at .341.
 In
the Manitoba Senior League, Hamiota Red Sox ran away with the pennant
and a victory in the playoffs. Hamiota had the loop's top hitter
and top pitcher. Gord Lyall (right) topped the hitters with a .447
mark in 94 at bats besting Dave Pearson of St, Lazare, at
.440. Cliff Seafoot of Riverdale was third at .394.
Gerry Van Buskirk compiled a 7-1 won/lost record to
lead the moundsmen, ahead of Lorne Lilley of Riverdale who
finished at 6-2.
  The
North Battleford Beavers won their third straight title in the Northern
Saskatchewan League. Beavers edged Unity Cardinals 2-1 in a
12-inning thriller to take the crown. Beavers had finished a game
ahead of Neilburg during the regular season.
Ken Hoyt of
Kindersley put up a .500 average in 72 at bats to take the batting
title. Three Beavers followed - Roy Rowley, at .395,
Ira McKnight (right), .385, and Johnny Ford,
.366. Sherman Cottingham (left) of North Battled led the
pitchers with a 10-2 won/lost record. Jim Arens of
Neilburg was 9-1 and Ross Stone of Unity was unbeaten with
a 7-0 mark.
Stenen won the Northeastern Saskatchewan League crown for the 8th
straight season. Gust Koroluk again was key to victory.
.
 Outfielder
Shaun Fitzmaurice (Notre Dame) of the pennant winning Sturgis
Titans was named the Basin League's Most Valuable Player after a
record-setting season. Fitzmaurice set new standards for hits,
runs batted in, total bases and triples.
Sioux
Falls Packers, third during the regular season, downed Valentine in the
playoff final to capture the league championship.
  Reggie
Cleveland (left) of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, began to attract
attention as a teenager pitching for his hometown team. After
leading the Swift Current Indians to the Southern League pennant in 1965
he signed with Cardinals and fashioned a 13-year career in the majors
with St. Louis, Texas, Boston and Milwaukee.
Up in the
Prince Albert area of Saskatchewan, 14-year-old Dave Pagan
(in his Yankee baseball card, right) began
his climb to the majors pitching for teams in the Highway 55 League.
He went on to a 10-year career in professional baseball, including five
in the major leagues with the Yankees, Seattle, Baltimore and
Pittsburgh.
Gene
Graves, the former Saskatoon and Calgary right-hander, signed on to
be playing manager of Kindersley of the Northern Saskatchewan League
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