Moose Jaw's Charlie Meacher is set to be inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in the individual category as a builder.
Meacher began playing pony league baseball as a 13-year-old. He started coaching in the Moose Jaw Little League in 1985. Between 1988 and '93, he coached both sons on separate teams.
Meacher was on the Moose Jaw Little League board of directors from 1988-2003, serving as division co-ordinator, equipment manager, scheduler and president. Starting in 1995, he served as the vice-president, groundskeeper, maintenance man and scheduler for Ross Well Park. That is a job he still performs in an attempt to improve the park for the Moose Jaw recreation league and the Western Major Baseball League franchise..
He coached the Major Moose Jaw Little League All-stars in 1991. They won the provincial tournament while finishing undefeated. The team also competed at the Western Canadian Championships in Lethbridge, Alta.
In 1993, his team won the Big League Provincial Championships, leading them to compete at the Western Canadian Championships in Athabasca, Alta. His team also placed second at the Williston Invitational.
In 1994, he started a Saskatchewan Baseball Association bantam team. One of his teams placed second once again in the Williston Invitational.
Meacher joined the coaching staff of the Midget Cardinals from 1995-2011. The Cardinals finished second at the midget provincial championships. He also coached his way to a first place finish at the Saskatoon Invitational and Regina Invitational in 1995.
In 1996, one of his teams placed first in the Kindersley Invitational. His bantam team won the Bantam Elite Tournament in Prince Albert.
He joined the Saskatchewan Baseball board in 1997 and is still presently the zone director. As part of the board, he has been on the high performance committee since 1998, was the zone governor in 2000 and midget supervisor in 2001 and he has been the junior supervisor since 2002.
The Cardinals finished second in the midget league, but they still qualified for provincials in 1997.
In 1998, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Baseball manager of the year. During that season, his team won the league title with a 19-2-2 record.
His team finished second at the Lethbridge Invitational tournament in 1999.
Meacher was named the Bill McCulloch Volunteer of the Year in 2000. He placed first in five separate invitational tournaments. Meacher also won a gold medal at the summer games in Yorkton, the league title, the provincial championship and participated in the Midget AAA Nationals in Red Deer, Alta.
Meacher has also coached at the provincial level. He was the assistant coach of Team Saskatchewan at the Canada Cup in 2003, '05 and '06.
In 2004, he finished third at the Dickinson, N.D. Invitational. At the Winnipeg Invitational in 2007, Meacher won a silver medal. He also won a silver medal at the Williston, N.D. Invitational in 2011.
The Moose Jaw Times Herald named Meacher the builder of the year in 2012. He also won the Baseball Canada MLB volunteer of the year in 2013.
Meacher continues to live in Moose Jaw.
