Nov. 3, 2015

Bond, Krykewich, Hodgson lead 10 Athletes into Baseball Hall

By SCOTT TAYLOR
Myles Bond made 10 trips to either the Western Canadian or National Championships, Jamie Hodgson was a .375 hitter for the Brandon Cloverleafs and Mike Krykewich was a slick-fielding second baseman who has become one of the province’s most respected coaches.

Bond, Krykewich and Hodgson will lead 10 athletes, three teams and a special list of Manitoba stars into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.

On June 4, 2016, in Morden, Man., Bond, Hodgson, Krykewich, Rod Leduchowski, Larry Nicholls, Gerald Palidwor, Mel Soughton, Jeff Trager, Glen Johnson and Ross Tycoles will officially become the 2016 Class of inductees into the Hall. Joining them will be the 2000-2005 Elmwood Giants, the 2006-2011 Wawanesa Brewers and the 1984-89 Waskada Orioles (1984-1989) as well as Manitoba’s 20th Century Dream Team.

And don’t forget, the annual Winnipeg Goldeyes Hall of Fame game, honoring the inductees, will be held during a game close to the date of the induction dinner. Check back when the 2016 schedule is released.

Let’s meet this year’s inductees:

(Thanks to the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for the biographies of the athletes and teams)

Myles Bond (1964—) Calgary Alta.
Myles Bond was an outstanding pitcher on provincial championship teams at every level from Bantam to Senior over his 16-year career from 1978-93. Myles is also a three time Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame team member inductee with the 1982 St. Boniface Junior Legionnaires, the 1989-93 St. Boniface Native sons, and the 1988-93 Grosse Isle Blue Jays.

Jamie Hodgson (1971—) Brandon Man.
Jamie Hodgson had an outstanding career in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League playing more than 20 years with the Brandon Cloverleafs between 1988 -2010. Jamie also played on the Manitoba Youth Team and Summer Games Team in 1989, had a tryout with Team Canada that same year, and played professionally with the Brandon Grey Owls in 1995.

Glen Johnson (1961—) Etobicoke Ont.
Glen Johnson has had a Hall of Fame caliber career in three separate areas as a contributor to baseball in Manitoba and Canada. His on field umpiring accomplishments; his career in umpiring administration; and his involvement as a Baseball Manitoba administration volunteer all make him a very highly qualified Hall inductee.

Mike Krykewich (1965—) Winnipeg Man.
Although once known as a slick fielding second baseman Mike Krykewich has made his name as one of Manitoba’s most respected coaches over the last 25 years. Mike’s greatest achievement has been to begin a baseball program at the University of Winnipeg on a volunteer basis with minimum funding and develop it into official status within the NAIA program competing against U.S. college teams.

Rod Leduchowski (1967—) Teulon Man.
Rod Leduchowski excelled very early in his career on the baseball diamond as a hitter, fielder, and pitcher. Rod’s talent earned him tryouts with Team Canada’s Youth Team in 1984-85. Rod played on the Western Canada Champion Elmwood Giants Juniors in 1987 and finished off a four year College baseball career in North Dakota in 1989. Rod has been in charge of Teulon Minor Ball since 2001 and recently served for over a decade on the Interlake Minor Ball Executive.

Larry Nicholls (1944—) Killarney Man.
Larry Nicholls achieved baseball success at a very young age as his Little League team from Portage la Prairie won the Manitoba Championship in 1955. He was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award from the MBA in 1986. He ended his coaching career in 1987 to become a full-time umpire and he continued his development behind the plate to become an international ranked umpire.

Gerald Palidwor (1957—) Dugald Man.
Gerry “Boomer” Palidwor has been playing, coaching, and organizing baseball at high competitive levels for over 40 years. Wherever he played “Boomer” was involved in not only playing but also coaching and league administration. He reorganized and helped develop the Winnipeg Jr. B League where teams he coached have won numerous titles. He organizes minor ball in Oakbank which includes fixing backstops, cutting grass, and many other tasks.  He also has served several terms as President of the Winnipeg Senior League.

Mel Stoughton (1922–85)
Mel Stoughton devoted his entire adult life to working with youth through sports and especially baseball. Mel also found the time to serve as a Director of the Manitoba Baseball Association in the 1960s and spent nine years as the scorekeeper and statistician for the Grandview Lakers senior ball team in the MSBL during the 70’s.

Jeff Trager (1969—) Winnipeg Man.
Jeff Trager was a local star on Winnipeg diamonds for 25 years in Junior and senior competition from 1987-2011. He was often in demand to be picked up by other teams for Senior Provincials and Senior Western Canadians as he was on five provincial winners and played in two Western tournaments.

Ross Tycoles (1954—) Reston MB
Each of Ross Tycoles three separate careers as player, coach, and builder in Southwest Manitoba fully qualify him for induction into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. He was instrumental in reviving baseball in Reston and built a baseball complex that’s now named after him. Provincially he was an MBA director and VP of High performance for three years and inducted into the MBA Honour Society in 2012.

Major Team
Elmwood Giants (2000-2005)
The Elmwood Giants excelled in the Winnipeg Senior Baseball League, Manitoba playoffs, and Western Canada Senior championships from 2000-2005. The Giants represented Manitoba in Western Canada tournaments in Saskatoon 2001 winning a Silver medal, and captured Gold medals in 2002 at Winkler and 2004 at home.

Small Community Team
Wawanesa Brewers (2006-2011)
After winning three straight Pembina Valley Baseball AA League championships from 2003-05 the Wawanesa Brewers switched to the Southwest Senior AA Baseball League for the 2006 season. They continued their dominance in their new surroundings by winning pennants in four of six seasons, from 2006-11 and finishing second the other two years.

Small Community Team
Waskada Orioles (1984-1989)
The Waskada Orioles dominated the Southwest Baseball League in the six years from 1984-89. They captured the league championships five of those years and were finalists in the sixth.

Special Recognition
Manitoba All-Star Dream Team (20thCentury)
Manitoba’s All-Star Dream Team of players was selected by a special Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame committee for inclusion in the book The Northern Game, Baseball the Canadian Way.

The 17 member team consists of catchers Almer McKerle, Miami and Cliff Seafoot, Riverside; first baseman Bill Carpenter, Winnipeg; second baseman Lloyd Brown, Brandon; third baseman Ian Lowe, Bradwardine; shortstop Bill “Snake” Siddle, Winnipeg; outfielders Gerry McKay, Brandon; Ken Little, St. Boniface; Mark Fisher, Riverside; Gord Ledochowski, Riverton; designated hitter Corey Koskie, Anola; pitchers Glennis Scott, McConnell; Don “Pete” Rettie, Charleswood; Gerry Falk, Carman; Orville Minish, Swan River; utilty player Shane Moffatt; Souris and manager Terry Hind, Winnipeg.

The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame will hold its 20th annual induction banquet at the Hall on Saturday, June 4, 2016, 5:00 p.m., inside the Morden Event Access Centre.