The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame is proud to announce the selection of Beverley (Bev) Hickie of Estevan into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame Individual Category as a player on Aug. 20 in Battleford.
Hickie was born in August of 1944 and grew up on a farm near Killaly. He was one of four brothers and two sisters in a family that was interested in athletics, mostly baseball and hockey. Since he was easy to coach and an agreeable participant, his brothers and sisters had no problem in getting Hickie to be the catcher for the family ball team in summer and goalie for hockey in the winter.
As a teenager, Hickie played with the Killaly Athletics, in what was then called the Gary League. On weekends the Athletics competed in tournaments around central and southern Saskatchewan. In 1962 Hickie was invited to play with the Melville Millionaires of the South Saskatchewan Baseball League, where he stayed until 1970.
During those years, Hickie was the best player on both teams. He had major league speed and was often able to reach first base with an infield hit. He patrolled centre-field with suffocating coverage and a powerful arm, while his base stealing numbers were off the chart.
He also had exceptional power and strength at the plate. On one occasion at a Saltcoats Senior Baseball Sports Day, he hit the ball so far over the centre fielder's head that he was able to cross home plate for a home run by the time the outfielder retrieved the ball. This was because there were no outfield fences at Saltcoats at the time.
As well as being a great centre fielder, Hickie could also play third base and shortstop. He also spent several years as a catcher, where he was able to throw out many failed base stealers at second.
As a hitter, Hickie won the league's batting title in 1966 and was third best a year later with a .417 batting average. He was selected to the league's first all-star team in 1970 and was consistently near the top in stolen bases and batting average during his career.
Hickie moved to Estevan in 1970. He continued his teaching career there and helped to get kids involved with the sport. He also played a key role in the formation of the Twilighter Baseball League in Estevan and continues to be involved in the community.
