Rodney Rhinehart from Maidstone will be inducted into the individual category of the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, as a player and builder, Aug. 17.
Rhinehart began his baseball career when he was 13 years old with Standard Hill, a school district north of Maidstone.
Before being designated a regional park, Rhinehart, along with a handful of avid baseball players, mostly farm boys, helped build the baseball diamond at Silver Lake.
He also remembers snaring gophers early in the morning before a tournament and racing them to make a few dollars.
Rhinehart played junior baseball in Maidstone and provincials with the Neilburg Monarchs.
Playing senior baseball with the Standard Hill Monarchs, Rhinehart won the Jaren Johner Memorial Trophy for having the highest batting average at .444.
He loved the game of baseball, was a very dedicated, highly talented and fierce competitor. Rhinehart was very modest about his great skill and his ability to hit home runs was a great asset in keeping the team going.
He willingly helped young players develop their batting skills for power and average.
Rhinehart helped coach the Standard Hill Midgets to the provincials where they finished second.
At age 44, playing his first year for Standard Hill at an oldtimers tournament in Eston, Rhinehart batted .818.
After retiring from playing the game, he took on the job of umpiring many games including the provincial playoffs and was known as a reliable and fair umpire.
When his health prevented him from umpiring, Rhinehart continued going to games or watching them on TV.
In August 2012, he went to the Rogers Centre where he saw the Toronto Blue Jays play.
Rhinehart and his wife, Judy, have two sons, Owen and Dean, and reside in Maidstone.
Along with Rhinehart will be the induction of the Jansen Red Sox baseball team.
The game of baseball was introduced to the district by settlers with American roots who came to the Illinois and Nealdale districts.
The Jansen Red Sox baseball team spanned the years from the late 1930s to the 1950s. Various players donned the uniform throughout those years. There were no leagues so most of the competition occurred at tournaments and sports days in the larger centres. At times, they merged with teams from the surrounding towns to put together a formidable force that was often successful.
George Humphreys, a popular teacher in Jansen, was a positive influence on young ball players of the day. He taught participation, fairness and sportsmanship.
The team gained experience playing against the touring teams from the United States and the Red Sox almost won some of these games.
One highlight was playing exhibition games at Watrous, sponsored by White's Pool, the payoff being a free swim in the pool, a hamburger, and enough money for gas for transportation.
One of the outstanding games played by the Red Sox was a final in Jansen, pitted against, and losing 1-0 to, the Sioux Indians from Fort Qu'Appelle.
In the mid '40s and early '50s, Jansen had a top baseball team of local players dressed in grey and red. This team played in central Saskatchewan, and won an average of 75 to 80 per cent of their games.
The team roster consisted of: John Werth, pitcher; Bill Miller and Jack Zenert, relief pitchers; Albert Wildeman, catcher; Norman Lissel, first base; Harold Krause, second base; Eddy Koshinsky, third base; Gus Koshinsky, short stop; Freddy Moir, centre field; Johnny Schroeder, right field; and Tony Bittman, left field.
The team's manager was Reinhold Koshinsky.
It was at a Saskatoon exhibition tournament that Gus Koshinsky had the misfortune of breaking his collarbone when sliding into second base.
The team competed in the Saskatoon exhibitions, which were invitational, and although the team never quite won, provided strong competition.
In their hay day, the Jansen baseball team took their share of prize money, which was then turned in to the club to cover costs of equipment and other expenses.
As of 1990, many of the aforementioned players had passed away, but memory of the players and team live on!
