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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.
 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 Red 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
(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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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
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. 
