Baseball Canada’s 50 for 50 contest is designed to find the top moment or story in the 50 year history of the organization.
Week 8 (Voting: June 23rd 12pm ET-June 27th 10am ET)
Out of the following five choices, which one do you feel should move on to the semi-final round?
1) Charlottetown, PEI Islanders wins silver at 1977 Senior Nationals
Following a very competitive performance at the 1975 Senior Nationals in Vancouver, the Charlottetown Islanders decided, as a team, under coach Don LeClair, to re-group for a run at representing PEI at the 1977 Nationals in Brandon, Manitoba. The Islanders sought entry into the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League and were accepted. The team performed well in the league, but eventually was defeated in the league semi-finals. The Islanders defeated the Morell Chevies in three straight games to qualify to be the provincial representatives at the Nationals.
After completing a successful round-robin at the National tournament by beating Ontario 8-7 with the winning run crossing the plate in the ninth inning, the Islanders then defeated host Brandon in the semi-finals 9-6 before running out of pitching and losing to a strong British Columbia team in the gold medal game. Mike Kelly led the tournament in batting and Marty Keoughan in home runs. Both were selected to the tournaments All-Star team.
2) Canada wins gold at 1991 World Youth Championships
Perhaps no other baseball competition has a tougher outcome to predict than the World Youth (18U) Baseball Championship. Put the best 16-to-18 year olds on the world’s biggest stage for the first time, and you’re in for an exciting roller coaster event highlighted by unexpected performances and unsung heroes, mental breakdowns and disappointments. The 1991 World Youth Baseball Championship in Brandon, Manitoba certainly proved to be a great show for the many spectators who attended, as Canada came out on top against all odds. After having lost to the Netherlands in exhibition play, the Canucks polished their game just in time for the start of the tournament. The opener was on July 26th, and Canada easily disposed of that same Netherlands team 10-0. The road to the finals was an excruciating 10-game journey that included matches against Australia, Cuba, Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico, and the USA. Daniel Brabant (Longueil, QC) made the start for Canada in the finals against Chinese Taipei, allowing only 4 hits in 5 2/3 despite his offense manufacturing little run support and his club falling behind 2-0. Jason Birmingham (Sarnia, ON) was brought in the game to replace an injured Brabant in the 6th, and recorded the final ten outs of the game in stellar fashion by throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. The offense came courtesy of Toronto Native Todd Betts, who hit a game tying double and Troy Croft of Newfoundland who belted a homer to right-center field in the top of the 8th. When it was all said and done, Canada defeated Chinese Taipei 5-2 in front of 5, 000 fans at Brandon’s Westbran Stadium, becoming the only Canadian team at the time (and still to this today) to win gold at the event.
3) Canada defeats Jim Abbott and Team USA at 1988 Seoul Olympics
A total of eight teams participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where Baseball was still a demonstration sport. The USA, the Netherlands, Korea, Australia, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and Chinese Taipei all came in looking to notch top honours. The US had a very impressive run, and clinched the gold medal with a 5-3 win over Japan. Prior to that, they had convincingly defeated Puerto Rico and South Korea en route to the final game. In 1988, the Americans fielded one of its strongest amateur squads in history, as eight players would go on to be drafted in the first round of professional baseball's free agent draft. The only team that ended up giving the US a hard time in Seoul was the Red and White, when team Canada gave the US a scare by defeating their southern neighbors 8-7 in a preliminary round game. Up-and-comer Jim Abbot, who would be selected 8th overall by the California Angels in the 1988 draft, took the mound for the Americans. After his team took an early three run lead in the first inning, Canada rallied back with 4 runs in the fourth, and another 3 in the seventh. Putting together 12 timely hits, Canada finally came out on top 8-7 and served this talented American club a reality check going into the medal rounds. Team Canada included future major league players such as Matt Stairs and Rheal Cormier. The late Jim Ridley, a recent Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, referred to the win as one of the greatest moments of his career.
4) Baseball Canada implements Challenger Baseball program in 2012
Challenger Baseball, a program that provides an opportunity for children with disabilities to play baseball, in a division created for their very special needs, was adopted by Baseball Canada at the 2012 Annual General Meeting. A program originally founded by Little League Baseball, Challenger Baseball first came to Canada in 1989. Today, over 50 local baseball associations across Canada have Challenger Baseball programs in their systems and the numbers continue to grow every year. Baseball Canada has combined with Little League Canada to jointly operate Challenger Baseball Canada that will act as the umbrella organization for Challenger Baseball in Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays have also jumped on board as supporters of the program holding the first ever Challenger Baseball Jamboree at Rogers Centre in June 2013 that drew 40 participants. That number doubled in 2014 at the second annual event that took place in June following a Toronto Blue Jays game.
5) Baseball Canada holds National Summit in 2003
Baseball Canada held a National Summit in 2003 in conjunction with the annual Fall Convention. Taking place in Québec City, the National Summit brought together close to 500 attendees to discuss various topics including Umpire/Volunteer Mentorship, Coach Development, Length of Games, Marketing and Promotion, Introductory level of baseball and Length of season. With support from the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montréal Expos at the time, the summit provided Baseball Canada an opportunity to look at the shape of the sport in Canada, get a read on the pulse of the game and come up with solutions on improving amateur baseball across the country. Two very important components of Baseball Canada’s current structure were born out of the National Summit in 2003 in the Rally Cap program, that was introduced in 2006, and the NCCP on-line coaching platform that has brought Coach Education into a new era.
