The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum houses hundreds of historical baseball artifacts and Saturday 13 inductees, one family and one team graced the hall of fame.
It was another great turnout for the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's induction banquet, but this year there was a difference in the crowd that many people noticed - younger people were showing up at event. Some obviously family members to share in the honour of their grandfathers, but other were there simple as teammates as inductees.
One of the 13 individual inductees, Peter Fylyma, was one of the reasons for some of the younger ball players in the crowd. Fylyma was a member of the Saskatoon Outlaws until last season and several of his teammates were on hand for his special moment Saturday.
Flylma got his start in baseball while entering a "filler team with David George in the Beavers tournament when he was 20. After hitting a home run in the tournament the Beavers got Fylyma on their roster that week and the rest is history.
"I put a lot into baseball, and a lot of these guys (Saskatoon Outlaws teammates) know how much I have put into baseball," said Fylyma after the 小蓝视频.
"More of our focus was to inducted some of the younger players who played after the great baseball era," said Jane Shury the co-ordinator, president and CEO of the museum. Shury added that even the board has some "new blood" and it doesn't look like baseball and the museum is going anyway anytime soon. "Baseball is alive in Saskatchewan."
Baseball flourished in the mid 1900s in Saskatchewan and many of the inductees' bio read by Paul Hack and Kevin Waugh, the master of ceremonies and inductor, proved that.
North Battleford Mayor Ian Hamilton was one of the dignitaries who welcomed the inductees and guest and told a story of how he and his daughter were in the United States at a golf tournament. There they got into a conversation with a golf course worker who pitched in North Battleford, years ago - small world isn't it.
It is those kind of stories which were told all day Saturday and which are so important to the respected history of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ron Hayter, a good friend of the founder of the museum Dave Shury, was the guest speaker for the evening. The Edmonton City Councilor spoke of his involvement with women's international baseball - Hayter is a key part of bringing the Women's Baseball World Cup to Edmonton in 2012. Hayter spoke of a trip to Venezuela were he took in the Women's Baseball World Cup earlier in August. While there, he witnessed a player from Hong Kong get shot in the leg while standing at her third base position. His experience in Caracas opened his eyes and all those listening to his speech of how fortunate Canadians are to play baseball and live in a free country.
Hayter also made note of phone conversations he had with Fidel Castro after Cuban baseball players were "defected" while playing ball in Edmonton and Hayter has served on the board, which had the mission to get baseball into the Olympics.
Hayter was later made an honourary inductee along with another key contributor to Saskatchewan's baseball history by Shury. Once she stepped down from the podium, the board presented Shury with her own honourary induction surprise.
"She is the heart beat of the museum," said Ed Bryant, who also received the Special Merit Award Saturday evening. "She is Mrs. Baseball of Saskatchewan," he said as the crowd of nearly 400 stood up to give Shury a well-deserved standing ovation.
"I was surprised," said Shury. "I am very pleased, humbled and honour,"
The list of inducted individuals included: Fylyma, the late Ned Andreoni, the late Albert Bidart, Keith Czemeres, the late Norman French, the late Bennie Griggs, Hugh Huck, Robert McLane, Jay-Dell Mah, Gary Nordal, Doug Schultz, the late Roberto Zayes and Dennis Williams.
Williams responded on behalf of the inductees and the Fulda Flyers and Millard Family, who were also inducted on the night.
He spoke to the families who were there to honour the baseball players who had passed away and said that as a teammates of some of the other inductees, and the work of the museum staff that they, "have not been forgotten and we will remember them."
Also Saturday night, Shury's son presented Wayne Hoffman with the Dave Shury Cup and the new sponsors were thanked and honoured for their contributions to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The traditional singing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game ended the evening and now the process begins again to get people to submit nominations for next year's induction 小蓝视频.
