Update : 12 December, 2011
Wow. You have to check out the new photo(s) of the 1933 Regina Nationals.
Barry Forster has been working with a colourizing program and the results have turned out remarkably well. We had to do a little extra work on the faces, but the new photo is quite an improvement on the original.
Lots of other bits 'n pieces added, including the 1964 photo galleries and snapshot pages. Among the additions - John Pearce (left), George Fowlkes, Paul Coleman, Jim Flammini, Harvey Smith, Louis Smith, Bob Christenson, Larry Derksen, Max Bentley, Elmer Walker, Brian McIntyre and Rob Roy.
The 1949 Tournament reports moved a little further toward completion with some additions, and we've made a start on the Alberta photo galleries of the 1930s with the 1932 and 1933 galleries now posted. And, I've just wrapped up the stats and rosters for the 1933 Edmonton Senior League.
I was pleased to be approached by the University of Alberta to write a history of baseball and softball in the province for their sports project. It is expected to be posted on-line sometime early in the new year.
In the process I learned much, especially about women in baseball and softball. It turned out the editor for my piece was Dr. Ann Hall (right, professor emeritus, U of A's Department of Physical Education) who penned a marvelous book on women and sport in Canada, The GIrl and the Game, Ann has another book coming out soon. It's on the fabulous Edmonton Grads womens' basketball team. For most of 25 years (1915-1940) they were the world's best, winning more than 500 games and losing less than two dozen.
Our history project has taken a great leap backwards! All the way back to 1887. Rich Necker and I are researching an allegation about racism at a ball game in Toronto that summer. Several dozen publications, including baseball books by highly respected authors, have included a claim of racist behaviour by Toronto fans against Buffalo's Frank Grant, a superlative, but black player. The claim makes specific reference to a July 27th game in Toronto against Buffalo. Small problem - Buffalo did not play in Toronto that day or any day close to it. So, we are going through the papers from 1887 and checking out the books to try and determine what, if anything, is accurate in the allegation.
Thanks to Bryan Steverson for keeping us posted on Dirk Gibbons, one of the Western Canada stars of the late 1940s and 1950s. You'll likely remember Bryan from his wonderful book, Amazing Baseball Heroes: Inspirational Negro League Stories.
While Bryan was visiting with Clifford Brown (SS/2B with the Philadelphia Stars 1949-51), Gibbons dropped in to say hello. That's Brown on the left, Gibbons on the right.
The photo was taken December 1st. A few days later, Dirk called to inform that he had suffered a heart attack December 2nd and was rushed to hospital. Happily, after a few days in hospital, he was able to return home with no major problems. Two years ago, Gibbons had triple by-pass surgery.
In 2006, Gibbons and Brandon teammate Armando Vasquez won induction into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.
From the mail bag . . . a note from Cory O'Hayer from Dorchester, Massachusetts to send thanks for a 1909 team photo of the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods. Cory is the great-grandnephew of Harold O'Hayer, one of the Moose Jaw players. The photo from a newspaper item is pretty poor quality, but we continue to search for a copy of the real photo.
The item posted on Father Murray of Notre Dame (below) brought several responses, including one from Murray Adams of Calgary who has provided some contacts in regard to the quest to figure out why the Notre Dame club was wearing San Diego uniforms one summer. Murray also had some background on why Father Murray ended up shepherding the Regina Argos baseball team on a tour of Eastern Canada.
Pere had just been assigned to Regina and a bunch of Protestant kids got into trouble for breaking into a cathedral. The cops wanted to deal with them but Pere convinced them that he would take care of them and started up a sports program.(the Argos) They traveled all over western Canada playing hockey and ball.
On the San Diego connection, Murray noted that in the 40s baseball scouts would come up to the big tournaments to see who they could recruit.
I guess there was scout from San Diego that was out, met Pere, learned a little bit about Notre Dame and wrote a bit about it back in San Diego. Bill Lane who was the owner of the Padre’s got hold of this guy as he could not believe the story about this little priest in the middle of nowhere and what he was doing at the college ... Bill started sending a hundred dollars or so to Pere whenever he could. Pere would write back and they became close friends. There is a building at Notre Dame (Lane Hall) and a ball field that is named after this man who helped Pere out so much.
Had a note from Oak Toombs, son of Oakley Toombs, a catcher of renown in the late 1920s and through the 30s in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon.
In 1932, Toombs, playing for the Moose Jaw All-Stars, lost the Southern League batting title to Bill Clayton of Milestone .365 to .364. One more hit or one fewer at bats and he would have won the crown. Toombs last season was in 1939 with the Saskatoon Lions before he joined the army and went overseas.
According to my Dad and some newspaper clippings, Johnny Dawson was the star of that team. Also, some major league touring players thought he was the finest shortstop in Western Canada.
Also nice to hear from Brenda Stoyand, daughter of former Regina (Balmorals and Nationals of the late 20s and 30s) star John Stoyand.
Seeing information and photos of her dad was particularly pleasing as Johnny passed away when Brenda was just five. We were happy to send along a pretty fair photo of her dad.
Some mail comes just too late, but it's still quite something when folks remember. Howard Shulman was trying to track down an old teammate - Eddie Tanner, who played ball over a twenty-year span in Western Canada (from the late 1940s to the late 1960s) broken up by a five year spin in pro ball in the USA. Shulman had played with Tanner on the Donalsonville Seminoles in the Alabama-Florida League in 1955. Unfortunately, Tanner passed away in the mid 1980s.
I was so pleased to hear from Bernie Wyatt of Burlington, Ontario who, years ago, provided the photos of the Broadview Buffaloes of the 1930s (which, in this one, included the illusive Eugene Bremmer). Bernie, who was born in Broadview, happened to notice our expansion of reports on Broadview baseball in 1937 and 1938.
I continue to be amazed at Max Weder's collection of baseball memorabilia. Even if he hasn't got it personally, the Vancouver lawyer seems to be in the loop as to what's out there. A recent alert from Max concerned a uniform of the Moose Jaw Mallards of the Western Canada Baseball League. The pants to the uniform had the name Pancho printed on the inside of the waistband. From that, I figure the uniform might have belonged to Pancho Gray of the 1954 Mallard squad.
Robin McKenzie was kind enough to help us out again in confirming Sully Glasser's real first names - Sullivan John. Sully was Robin's father-in-law. Robin was so helpful in providing photos of the 1942 Regina club. We still need a couple of IDs here, but what a treat to have the photos.
Rex Hamann of Andover, Minnesota is trying to track down information on Joseph "Lefty" Sporer, a pitcher of the early 1900s. He's particularly interested in Sporer's age. Rex has a web site on the old American Association. Check it out !
Good to hear from Howie Snyder who advises a move is underway to establish a Baseball Hall of Fame in British Columbia. Danny Williamson is one of the core people in the project. I shall pass along more information as the process evolves.
09 December, 2011
Hearty congratulations to Bob Elliott, veteran baseball writer for the Sun newspaper chain. Bob has been named the winner of the Taylor Spink Award.
He's the first Canadian to capture the honour. The annual award is made by the Baseball Writers Association of America for "meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and will be formally presented during the 2012 induction Weekend ceremonies at Cooperstown, New York.
Bob had been runner-up for the Spink Award three straight years. In 2010, he was named winner of the Jack Graney Award by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bob's devotion to Canadian baseball in legendary. The Canadian Baseball Network website is just a part of what he's been doing over the past three plus decades to chronicle and support baseball in this country.
Among the previous winners of the Spink Award - Ring Lardner, Damon Runyon, Peter Gammons, Sam Lacy, Jim Murray, Dick Young, Red Smith and Jerome Holtzman. That's some quality company!
03 December, 2011
A sad day here at Western Canada Baseball as we learn of the passing of Roy Taylor. He died Thursday at age 92.
That's Roy on the right (below) in the spring of last year meeting with Steve Stavrianoudakis, one of his mound staff at Sequoias and in Canada. For the last few years Roy has been in a care facility in 
Visalia, California.
The Hall of Fame coach was a fan and media favourite during his time on the prairies beginning in 1950 with a barnstorming tour by the California Mohawks. Taylor went on to play and coach the Saskatoon 55s, Kamsack Cyclones, Moose Jaw Mallards and Saskatoon Commodores. He was a marvelous source of information for us in our early days of the history project. In May of this year, Taylor was featured in a publication of his care facility.
Longtime Visalia resident reveals secrets to a good life
Roy Taylor, all around athlete
Roy Taylor loves sports. As a star player on the Fresno State baseball, football and basketball teams in the 1940s, you could say the longtime Visalia resident was an all-around athlete. With the 2011 baseball season underway, Taylor’s name and his achievements at Fresno State and College of the Sequoias are sure to be a part of many Visalia residents’ conversation.
Taylor, 92, currently resides at Linwood Gardens Care Center in Visalia. Although he suffers from dementia, his daughter, Marty Scott, also a Visalia resident, said her father always said the secret to his success has been, “no smoking, no drinking and staying in shape.”
“My father golfed until he was 89 years old and he skied well into his 70s,” Scott said.
Taylor was born in Petersburg, Texas, one of seven children born to Martha and George Taylor. The family came to California via a covered wagon according to Scott. He proposed to Hattie Rhodes in 1944 and the couple was married for 64 years.
Taylor’s experience with college sports didn’t end when he finished his time as a student. He was the College of the Sequoias head baseball coach and assistant football and basketball coach for 20 seasons and continued as the school’s part time golf coach until 1989. With Taylor at the helm, the COS baseball program posted a 285-199-6 record for 17 of Taylor’s 20 seasons.
In 1994 Taylor was inducted into the COS Hall of Fame and the California Community Baseball Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame in 1997. In addition to his fame at COS, Taylor was a coach and player for several teams of the Western Canada League in the 1950s and early ’60s. While in Canada, Taylor was instrumental in recruiting several Canadian baseball players to play at COS, many of whom made their home in Visalia after their baseball days were complete.
Scott said her father had a direct impact on the lives of countless athletes during his career that spanned five decades.
“People always knew he cared about them,” Scott said. “He was genuine, kind and gentle and loved most all that he saw. He has been a devout Christian for 60 years. His relationship with God has definitely influenced how he has always treated people.”
10 November, 2011
Amazingly, we've come up with even more names to go along with the players in several team photos, including the 1911 Moose Jaw Robin Hoods. the 1910 Moose Jaw club and the 1914 Saskatoon Quakers.
In that Saskatoon team photo, we remain puzzled at the absence of star hurling Sam Beer and still cannot place the player in the back row, third from the left. It doesn't match other photos we have of Beer.
The Dodger Lewis profile has worked out pretty well, but I'm still on the lookout for more photos, stats and other information 
(especially what happened in the years out East & in the latter stages of his career). Efforts are underway on three more profile pages - Roy Rowley, Fred Cardwell (left) and Pete Prediger. If you can help with photos or information on those players, please drop me a line. 
In a way it is shocking that Dodger Lewis is not among the inductees into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (and, how about such prominent sportsmen as George Wesley, Willie Walasko, Orville Franchuk, Harry Watson, the Yanosiks, Hec Negrello, Wes Rice, to name but a few). But, the hall has inducted just nine athletes/builders under the baseball category (and I have tried several times to get the hall to correct the information it displays on Lester "Slim" Haynes). Obviously, baseball is barely on the hall's radar.
The oft-repeated tale on Haynes was that he threw three shutouts in one day, one of them a "perfect game". The story got embellished as the years wore on. Haynes attracted the attention of Ripley's Believe it Or Not which stated the right-hander had pitched three shutouts in one day. Barry Broadfoot, his his 1973 book, Ten Lost Years, 1929-1939 : Memories of Canadians Who Survived the Depression, picked up and further exaggerated the achievement. Broadfoot not only had the game in the wrong decade (it happened in 1922) but was incorrect in most of his "facts".
There was one guy that Stavely brought in and he was a pitcher, a fast-baller, but he had a nice curve too and a curve wasn't seen much at those tourneys, and he pitched a no-hitter the first game, a one-hitter and a two-hitter, and Stavely won the tournament. Naturally. If you don't believe me you can look it up. It was in Robert Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Three great games in one day. This big gink had played pro ball for Seattle or San Francisco and hadn't got the attention he probably through he deserved, but he sure did on the Canadian prairies.
What Haynes (for whom there is no record of having played pro ball) actually did that day was to pitch two shutouts, one a no-hitter, the other a six-hitter. Stavely played only two games that day, although there was another shutout in a game not involving Stavely, Haynes' team. Slim did have a great day, two shutouts, one a no-no, but not quite the story still published on the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame site.
The inclusion of the Father Murray story below, brought a quick response from Barry Forster (who you know has been working hard on researching his dad's career). It turns out Father Murray was a lifelong friend of the family and, in fact, was there at Barry's wedding to the lovely Elizabeth ! (That's the beaming Barry between Murray and his bride).
And, speaking of Murray, we are still trying to track down the story of how Murray's Notre Dame Hounds ended up in San Diego Padres' uniforms one season. It seems Murray had a connection to the owner of the San Diego team, but the details remain to be uncovered.
Barry also alerted us to an unusual newspaper photo of the 1927 Regina Argos. One more coincidence, Father Murray was the team's supervisor on a trip to Quebec.
In the course of other research, I happened upon more statistics for the Southern League in 1973 and more details for the tournament report that season.
Another unexpected find was another newspaper photo of Dick Brookins to go along with Rich Necker's wonderful story on the Negro third-sacker who was banned from play in the Western Canada League in 1910.
Discovered an interesting photo of one Roy Taylor's pitching staffs at Sequoias College in California. Roy, as you likely know, was one of the pioneers in bringing American college kids to play with teams on the prairies. He also kept on eye on prairie talent which he could take down to California. This 1959 staff included one Canadian hurler, Bob Hydukewich (from Blaine Lake, SK) and four others who came to play in Saskatchewan, Gene Graves, Morris Yates,Paul Springer and Rusty Winfield.
05 November, 2011
Dodger Lewis? Anyone have any information on the pitching star of the 20s and 30s? I'm in the process of trying to dig up material on the Lewis clan. I've just added a couple of items to tournament pages on a two of Dodger's eye-opening performances, one where he fanned 23 batters and another where he set down 24 by strikeout. Here's the Lewis story so far.
03 November, 2011
With snow beginning to appear up the mountains, time to put away the gardening tools and get out those over-sized rakes to tackle the leaves from the far-too-many trees on the property. A little sunshine makes this much less of a chore. Although I could do without the aches and pains! But, before we begin to toughen up yesterday's blisters, a long list of new and updated stuff to Western Canada Baseball.
It's taken awhile, but most of the material from a treasure trove of old photos and clippings from Rich Necker is now posted. Among the finds was a composite photo of the 1938 Saskatchewan Junior 
Champions, the Moose Jaw Steamers. The individual pictures are posted on the 1938 Photo Gallery. Many of the players went on to careers in the Southern League of Saskatchewan. One turned out to be a pretty fair hockey player - Elmer Lach (right).
Another of Rich's discoveries was a composite of the 1931 Moose Jaw Cats (or All-Stars), the provincial champions. Individual shots of the players from the composite are now posted. On the 1910 snapshot page, are photos of opening day of 1910 including pictures of a parade of autos down main street.
These Moose Jaw photos come courtesy of the Moose Jaw Public Library.
We've added a team photo of the 1921 Moose Jaw Millers of the Western Canada League. Look for soon-to-be New York Yankee shortstop Mark Koenig. Several of the individual pics, taken from the team photo, appear in the 1921 Photo Gallery.
More detective work is needed on the team photo of the 1911 WCBL champion Moose Jaw Robin Hoods. So far, we've been able to identify just a couple of the players. We are missing names for most of the players in the 1910 Moose Jaw team photo and the 1920 Moose Jaw team picture (the 1920 photo was so wide it's divided into two here).. Maybe you can help?
Individual photos of the 1925 Saskatoon CNR players are from the collection at the Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Room. Rich also managed to locate two photos of the 1914 Saskatoon Quakers. Thank goodness we've identified almost all of the players in the pictures.
We've drawn a blank, however, in trying to ID members of the 1911 Saskatoon Berrypickers.
Thanks to VM Productions of Regina we've some pretty good pics of the 1935 Regina Nationals. The firm helped restore a time-worn copy of a composite photo of the '35 club from former Southern League star Barry Trapp.
The Western Major Baseball League (the successor to the Western Canada League of old) info has been updated to reflect the 2011 season. Congratulations to the Regina Red Sox for winning their first WMBL title. Talk about stability, the teams finished in the same order as they did in 2010 in each of the three divisions. League officials report a very successful season.
Jesse Sawyer (left) of the Lethbridge Bulls was selected as the league's Most Valuable Player. Sawyer led the loop with 18 home runs and 50 RBI. The homers set a single-season record for 
the WMBL. The Calgary native, who attended South Dakota State University, finished with a .351batting average.
Bryan Abrey (right) of the Medicine Hat Mavericks, captured the batting crown with a .423 average. Abrey, from Richmond, BC,, had been selected as the 2010 Outstanding Canadian in the league.
Reliever Chad Jones of Swift Current Indians was named Top Pitcher. He compiled a 6-2 record with an ERA of 1.06 in 22 games.
Among the other additions to the site is a photo of the 1956 Calgary Dodgers, the George Brookman team, the 1910 Edmonton Eskimos of the old WCBL, and the 1936 Neilburg, Saskatchewan, All-Stars. The team photo of the 1933 Regina Nationals has been updated thanks to Barry Forster. The individual pics of the '33 Nats are posted on the Photo Gallery.
Research into Alberta's baseball history, for a paper for the University of Alberta, proved fascinating and rewarding. It forced me to dig a little deeper into the careers of players such as Jimmy Rattlesnake (right) and Dodger Lewis (in the group below). Rattlesnake was one of Canada's great aboriginal athletes. A Cree, from the Hobbema Reserve, near Calgary, he was inducted into the Wetaskiwin Sports Hall of Fame this spring. The lefty hurler was a star for two decades in the province. Lewis, whose career began about ten years before Rattlesnake, was a right-hander, who was known across the prairies for his pitching prowess.
And I've come across a dozen more photos which I've yet to figure out where to place. In the first row below are (left to right) Rollie Miles a Canadian Football League Hall of Famer who first came to Canada for baseball and after his football days continued with the diamond game for several Edmonton teams in the 1960s; Canadian lefty Robert Steele of the 1912 Moose Jaw club who went on to the major leagues; Dodger Lewis in 1919; Mark Koenig, Moose Jaw shortstop in 1921 who went on to play with Ruth, Gehrig and the powerful Yankee teams of the 20s; Cliff Bogstie prominent hurler for the Calgary Pucksters of 1933; Leroy Goldsworthy a star hurler in semi-pro and pro baseball while fashioning a two-decade career in hockey, ten years in the NHL.
Again, left to right, Charlie Beene, California college kid who came to play with Saskatoon in 1951 who went on to renown in policing in San Francisco; the next two photos are of Don Kirk a local kid who starred both in baseball and hockey and carved out a career as a doctor; Lefty Brown, Calgary pitcher from the late 1920s; Chet Brewer, one of the all-time greats in Negro League ball who finished his career in the early 50s pitching for several teams on the prairies. The photo is from 1935 and one of his many barnstorming trips to the prairies, this time with the Kansas City Monarchs. Albert "Silver" Smith, lefty pitcher for the Edmonton Cubs, 1933.
The addition of a 1951 photo (posted here on a 1950 page) provides the information that Dick Butler won the Northern Saskatchewan batting title in 1950 with a .368 average.
Father Athol Murray, one of Saskatchewan's most endearing characters, was the driving force behind the establishment of Notre Dame College at Wilcox, Saskatchewan. The Notre Dame Hounds were a key member of the Southern Baseball League.
The prairie legend, who died in 1975, was the subject of a 1980 movie. I came across the following, from 1980, published in the Ottawa Ctizen. Under the headline Whiskey Priest, the paper, in its TV Guide section, carried the following story by Paul King in its October 4th, 1980, edition :
He was, by varied accounts, a Renaissance man, one of Canada's greatest con artists, or a saint. Even before his death five years ago, at 83, Athol Murray was part of prairie folklore: a scotch-swilling, chain-smoking, hard-cussing ham who hobnobbed with presidents, popes and kings; a man of peace whom the Mounties yearned to arrest for inciting a riot. At a 1965 banquet in his honor, tributes poured in from such diverse fans as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bobby Kennedy, Lester Pearson and Bob Hope.
This month, a $1.2 million dollar feature movie based on Murray will premiere in Regina. Titled The Hounds of Notre Dame, the movie, rather than trying to compress Murray's multicolored life into 100 minutes, focuses on just two days in the winter of 1940. It's undoubtedly the only way they could do it. Forget the Beachcombers, the Kings of Kensington. If ever there was a Canadian story that could cram a TV series, it is Père Athol Murray's. Newspapering, law, religion, sports, politics, tough kids, a whisky-slugging priest with a faith in miracles -- it has everything. Even Bing Crosby said so. And he should know. After all, Bing (with Barry Fitzgerald) made cinema classics of such a cleric.
His friends say Murray could have excelled in any profession he chose -- as shrewd (and salty) a politician as his great-uncle by marriage, John A. Macdonald, or as brilliant a businessman as his nephew Bud McDougald (who, with E. P. Taylor, built the mighty Argus Corp. empire). When he was a young reporter with the old Toronto World in the summer of 1910, Murray's byline was better known than that of his contemporary (and buddy) Ernest Hemingway: "A drunken bum," sniffed Murray. "I never thought he'd amount to a damn." As a law student, he was a favorite clerk of the famed trial lawyer J. J. Robinette, who'd have Murray distract juries by dropping inkwells on the floor during hostile testimony.
Yet, because of a 10-cent copy of St. Augustine's Confessions bought in a Toronto secondhand shop, Murray's life was unalterably changed by one line: "He who does what in him lies, God will not deny his grace." Murray considered it divine conscription. And so the son of a rich Toronto mercantile family became a Roman Catholic priest.
And during the 57 years of his priesthood he founded, single-handed, in the dust-swept prairie village of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, the tiny school that today bears his name: the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame. It began in 1927 with about 15 boys (many of them Protestant). From its Spartan start as the world's smallest college, where students slept in four freezing threshing-crew shacks, it grew into a coeducational and inter-denominational institution that has to date turned out 6,000 fiercely individualistic alumni.
"Every human life is insignificant," he would thunder, "until you make yourself great." Murray went about it with amazing passion, taking care to preserve much of his own peculiar lifestyle along the way. Though he arrived in the West sporting top hat and cape, he soon eschewed grandeur. His students remember him in a plaid lumber shirt beneath his clerical collar, forever spilling ashes down his black dickey. He slept under a molting RCMP buffalo coat and often berated his parishioners from the pulpit: "You goddam Catholics -- you have no reverence for things sacred."
Visitors to his office were invariably handed a dirty glass, brimming with Bell's scotch, across a paper-strewn desk. "There's only one rule about whisky," he'd say. "Never drink alone." When a young student walked in one day, Murray poured the usual shot. "Hi, kid, have a drink."
"But," said the boy, "I'm only 12."
Murray nodded, "This'll make a man of you."
When the CCF government tried to introduced medicare to Saskatchewan in he 1960s, Père (as everyone called him) battled the "collectivized communist state" so bitterly from the pulpit and podium that the populace verged on riot. The Mounties suggested he should be jailed, and the CCF attorney general roared, "You damn fools. That's precisely what he wants. All that this cause needs to go out of control is a martyr."
Yet despite his unorthodox methods, the church made Murray a monsignor; because of his Cadet Corps during World War II (hundreds of students enlisted; 67 died), the RCAF made him a flight lieutenant; two universities gave him honorary doctorate degrees in philosophy and law to acknowledge his brilliant, classical teaching techniques; and his formation of Notre Dame's famous hockey team, the Hounds, got him into the Sports Hall of Fame. In addition, because he was . . . well, Père Murray, he was appointed to the Order of Canada.
It was to honor the memory of such a man that a group of wealthy Notre Dame graduates approached the Edmonton producer Fil Fraser three years ago with $50,000 to develop a movie about the eccentric monsignor. A book by the prairie writer Jack Gorman, Père Murray and the Hounds, had already been published, but the grads wanted to immortalize their mentor on film.
Fraser, 48, a Montreal-born journalist whose movie Why Shoot the Teacher? won an Etrog in 1977, had known Murray in the late 1950s. Fraser agreed to make the movie, "but not as a documentary or eulogy. It must show him as the larger-than-life rogue he was." The grads gave in and promised to raise the required budget privately.
So, during a blizzard early in March this year, the movie began shooting in Wilcox (population 170). Storefronts were reconverted to resemble their wartime facades; replicas of the rickety threshing shacks, the old 'four roses' (four-seater) outhouse and Pappy's Confectionary were reconstructed; actors shivered, then sank in mud as the frozen prairie thawed to knee-deep gumbo. And finally, The Hounds of Notre Dame, with screenplay by the novelist Ken Mitchell, who grew up near the college and knew Murray in the '60s, was finished.
The movie -- which will be distributed this fall across Canada and the United States -- opens with Murray at a political rally. From there, it goes through a blizzard, a hockey playoff, a romance between two teachers, a battle with the archbishop and the shaping up of a brash new student.
Although the names (except Murray's) have been inexplicably changed, the characters and events are real. Frances Hyland plays a nun based on Mother Edith, the sole mortal who could curb Murray's tongue or temper. Barry Morse portrays his archbishop. David Ferry plays a composite of two tough students, one who broke a teacher's nose and another who told Mother Edith, "No goddam penguin tells me what to do."
02 November, 2011
With the Players List in good shape (although more updates are coming) I am digging into the IN basket to try and catchup on some overdue material. Among the additions/updates this day are the 1939 rosters of the Northern League, game reports, playoff reports, and the start of snapshots for 1939.
We've made a little headway in filling in some blanks in coverage of senior baseball in Edmonton in the 1960s. Beginning to take shape are rosters for 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965 and 1966. I didn't realize that Eddie Tanner (left), one of my hometown stars in the 50s, had continued to play until the late 60s in the Edmonton league.
Thanks to former player Arnie Enger for being a sounding board for my many inquiries about the league. I made contact with Arnie as part of my research into Alberta Baseball and Softball history, a project for the University of Alberta. Back in 1986, Arnie wrote a university paper on the history of Alberta baseball.
Additions are being made to the yearly home pages to reflect other leagues in operation for those specific seasons.
Thanks to Barry Forster for digging out a group of much appreciate photos of the late 20s and 30s. That's Barry's dad, Bryan, right.
Among the items we've managed to get on-line are the individual photos of the 1929 Regina Balmorals , the team photo of the 1928 Saskatchewan Pool Juniors and the 1938 Lake Shore Mines team out of Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
29 October, 2011
It has taken many moons but, with the much appreciated assistance of Rich Necker, we've completed a major, major update and revision of the PLAYER LISTS. To make them easier to compile and access, they are now presented in PDF format.
Check them out at the link above and please send along any comments, corrections or additions.
Now, lots to get to with thanks to Tom Mulcahy, Jack Altman, Barry Forster, Arnie Enger, Brian Morrison, Phil Rissinger and Barry Swanton.
Left - A pair of former Lloydminster Meridians. That's Tom Mulcahy at the left and the late Keith Gustin at the right. Gustin may well have been the source of the Lloydminster uniform which was purchased at a thrift store in Kalispell, Montana ten years ago. Gustin was from Kalispell.
Never seen, or heard of, this play. Came across this in researching the career of Barry Forster's dad. It was a game in Northern Ontario between South Porcupine and the Lake Shore club from Kirkland Lake.
Streaking home with what would have been the tying run, Shelley of Lake Shore collided with Schultz, South Porcupine catcher, and fell unconscious to the ground. The ball eluded Schultz and Lake Shore players left their bench, attempting to drag Shelley across the plate. Umpire Frank Frawley ruled the unconscious runner out for interference. (Toronto Star, September 15, 1938)
Lake Shore protested the game, but the outcome is not known.
Big news on the International front - Canada has won its first gold medal in baseball, taking the final at the Pan American Games in Mexico. Canada shaded Team USA 2-1 to take the top prize. The Americans had earlier downed Cuba, ending Cuba's 40-year hold on the Pan-Am title.
29 September, 2011
Gene Graves passed away on Monday, September 26th, just days after his 79th birthday.
The native of Arkansas pitched at Sequoias College and Fresno State University in California before spending ten summers on the prairies hurling for Saskatoon, Calgary, Kindersley and Biggar.
A talented right-hander, Graves also was quite the entertainer and won the support of countless fans over his decade of play in Canada. Folks still remember that herky-jerky delivery!
That's Gene (left) at his induction into the Fresno State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. A couple of weeks ago, we prepared a little surprise page for Gene on his 79th birthday.
11 September, 2011
There's been lots of work behind the scenes as we try to update and make presentable the long list of players who've suited up over the period 1907 to 1974.
Thanks to a suggestion from colleague Rich Necker, we've approached the daunting task by separating the remaining names into decades, a move that's made the job much easier to handle.
Already we've posted all the players of the old Western Canada League, 1907 to 1921, and from the run of the Basin League of the Dakotas, 1953 to 1973.
Now we've managed to post the 1920s, 1930s and, most recently, the 1940s. There's a lot of detail yet to be uncovered, including first names, positions and sorting out players with the same name - Lefty Arnold, for example.
The new lists are here.
If you can help out with any of the names, please drop a line.
One of the characters and prime talents of prairie ball in the mid 50s through the mid 60s was Gene Graves a little right-handed pitcher from Arkansas, via California. Well, tomorrow he's celebrating his 79th birthday and we've put together a little salute.