Time to recognize the hardballers of Crystal City

In his book “Baseball in Manitoba,” Hal G. Duncan speculates that our province’s baseball history can be traced back to the 1840s in the Red River Valley. He states that it’s generally accepted that the first organized games were played in Winnipeg in 1874. As rural communities sprung up, each had a baseball diamond, often on the school grounds, and a team to go with it.

In the city, the rural boys were labelled “country hardballers,” as baseball was often called hardball to distinguish it from softball. Through the years, softball was also known as diamond ball or fastball. Once the slo-pitch version of softball became popular, the name of the fastball version of the game was changed to fast pitch.

The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame has made an effort to acknowledge baseball teams that represented small communities with a special induction category. In total, 31 teams representing 29 communities have been honoured by the hall. The list includes teams from Angusville, Belmont, Chatfield, Eden, Kaleida, Snowflake, Vita and Waskada — not exactly metropolises on the Manitoba map.

The HOF also has a minor teams category. To date, four teams — the 1953-58 Norwood C.C. juvenile and junior teams, the Elmwood Giants juniors from 2000 to 2007, the Carman Goldeyes midgets and juniors of the 1990s, and the Cardale Cougars, who won three minor provincials from 1971 to 1975 — have been recognized.

Memories of Sport is suggesting to the HOF selection committee that it consider the 1956 and 1957 teams from Crystal City, which qualify in both the small community and minor categories. Crystal City is located on Highway 2 in southwestern Manitoba near the Canada/U.S. border. The present population is just over 200, but in the mid-’50s, it was more than twice that size.

In 1956, the bantam A team of players 15 years of age first won the southern half of the province and then beat Virden, the northern winners, in a best-of-three provincial final. An estimated crowd of 650 in Crystal City saw the home team win the first game 5-2. In a doubleheader played in Virden on Sept. 3, Virden won 6-5, but the visitors responded with a 6-4 victory and captured the provincial title. Six of the 11 players were from Crystal City, with the other five hailing from the nearby communities of Cartwright, Clearwater and Pilot Mound.

The next season, the team — now called the Crystal City Combines — won the provincial midget championship by first beating both Carman and Warren two straight and then Brandon in a final that went three games. The teams split the first two games with the third played in Crystal City on Aug. 24. The third game was scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Combines plated a single run. The home team scored again in the sixth and won 2-0. According to the local newspaper, business in the community was suspended for two hours while the game was played.

The 13-player roster in 1957 included eight players from the 1956 team — catcher Wayne Porter, pitcher Dennis McAuley, first baseman Garry Thom, second baseman Bryan McTaggart, and shortstop Allan Sharpe, all from Crystal City, third baseman Dale Windsor of Pilot Mound, and outfielders Keith Argue and Doug Edkins from Clearwater. Newcomers were Murray Bridges and Larry Mudge from Mather, Emile Clermont from Baldur, Bill Legary of Pilot Mound, and Bill McDonald of Clearwater. Missing from the 1956 champions were pitcher/outfielder Dave Pinkerton from Cartwright, outfielder George Robertson of Pilot Mound and Crystal City utility player Ted Worden.

Two summers later, McTaggart was working in The Pas and playing second base for the senior Polar League champion The Pas TeePees. McAulay pitched for the Dauphin Redbirds senior team from 1961 to 1963. The 1959-64 TeePees and the 1958-63 Redbirds teams were inducted into the Baseball Hall in 2005.

After relocating to Winnipeg, Sharpe switched to fastball and played for champion senior A teams including Kiewel Seals, Black Knights and Ste. Anne Saints. He was inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2010.

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