The baseball stories started early in the morning Saturday and went well into the evening. That was exactly what the 2012 inductees of the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame would want.
Of the many baseball stories told a recurring theme during the 28th annual induction dinner was of the Notre Dame Hounds baseball team and the tradition started by Father Athol Murray. Kenn Townsend was the guest speaker and told stories of his time playing there. He also read quotes from historic books of the Hounds' dynasty.
"One of the mainstays in the summer for all the small towns was the sports days," noted Townsend. "The main tay of the sports days was the baseball tournament. When I played ball, I didn't appreciate all the things those sports days and baseball did for us."
Townsend was inducted as an individual into the Hall of Fame in 2011. This time around he was the guest speaker and was inducted in the team category with the Hounds. The Hounds also impressed the large crowd, which was one of the largest in recent years of the induction, with the infamous rendition of the Notre Dame song, which had many in the audience joining in.
Also inducted in the team category was the Lampman A's. The team had a resume of many provincial and league titles in a short period of time.
Orvil Mything was the representative for the Mything family and also responded to the crowd at the end of the night on behalf of the inductees. The Mything brothers, Orvil, Kenneth and Allan were known as three dominate pitchers during their time in Climax.
In the community category the Battlefords, which has amalgamated their baseball with North Battleford, was inducted in the Hall of Fame. Battleford is the home community to the museum where all the Saskatchewan baseball stories, artifacts and biographies are on display.
In the individual category, pitchers, position players, managers and executive members were all honoured. The list of individuals includes:
Dan Asham, who was an accomplished coach in Saskatoon.
Aron Braun, who has been involved in baseball for more than 50 years as a builder, founder, executive, manager, coach, trainer, clinician, umpire and mentor.
Dick Doepker, a minor league baseball player who returned to win championships in Saskatchewan.
George Kohlman, a pitcher and coach involved in baseball for 65 years.
Cameron Sternig, a great third baseman and batter with the North Battleford Beavers in the 1960s and 70s.
Brian Weisbrod, who was a championship-winning player and coach, He still plays the game at the old timers level.
The deceased Curly Williams, a member of the White Sox farm system and player and coach the Lloydminster Meridians.
Lorne Strueby, who was instrumental in the resurrection of baseball in Watrous as a player, coach and administrator.
Jack Ovens was one of the best pitchers to play baseball in Cut Knife from the 1940s to 60s.
Gus Kyle, who was a catcher and hockey player at Notre Dame before going on to play in the National Hockey League.
Bryan Forster, who was an elite player, coach and builder in southern Saskatchewan.
Hank Dornstauder, a position player and catcher with Notre Dame for years.
Some tears were shed as family members were reminded of their loved ones and the game they loved to be a part of. Most importantly the 12 individuals, two teams, family and community will forever be remembered in the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum following the induction Saturday.
Linking the old-time baseball stories with modern day players was the presentation of the Maroniuk/Marcoux Scholarship. Jaydon Gartner of Macklin and Jayden Lorenz of Saskatoon were co-winners of the award for 2012.
The night was an exciting one for many, and as expected there was an amazing meal by Cando Catering. Paul Hack and Kevin Waugh did an amazing job with the inductions and Jane Shury, her staff at the Hall of Fame and the directors put another memorable banquet together.
The Dave Shury Cup was also presented Saturday to the late Frank Germann while Norm Bell won the Special Merit Award and the Hall of Fame's gold sponsors were honoured.
