Elliott: Granum loses town status, memories remain, provided by Pat Gillick

Teenage lefty Pat Gillick after his four-hit, 17 strikeout outing in the final of the Calgary tournament. Manager George Wesley, bottom left, Tedd Bogal, top left, and Bill Fennessey.  Photo: Lethbridge Herald,.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

He was part of something special long before he reached the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners, the Philadelphia Phillies or that special team which resides in Cooperstown.

A lefty named Pat Gillick pitched for the Granum White Sox, which billed itself as the “best baseball team in Alberta.”

“We didn’t play that many games in our four-team league,” Gillick said recently, “but we played in a lot of cash tournaments throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan and we’d go to Worland, Wy.”

Granum became a town in 1910 after being known as the Village of Leavings. Granum lost its town status Feb. 1, becoming part of surrounding Willow Creek after a November vote which saw nearly three quarters of residents cast ballots to dissolve.

Situated north of Fort MacLeod, Granum hung on to its status for more than 100 years despite the fact that under the Municipal Government Act, it didn’t meet town standards for its population. To qualify as an Alberta town population must exceed 1,000 people. Granum (Pop: 406 in 2016) was permitted to keep its designation until now.

Granum no longer has a local council or mayor, and town business will run through Willow Creek. Yet, it will still always have its baseball history and memories.

Rancher George Wesley owned the Granum team as well as 40 sections covering 26,000 acres. He bred cattle and farmed wheat.

“We had a 13-mile drive west from town to the ranch -- and the 13 miles were almost all on George’s property,” said Gillick, who began the 1956 season with the Vulcan Elks. Gillick did not win a game for Vulcan. However ...

Since the Elks weren’t playing one weekend they loaned Gillick to Granum and he pitched a no-hitter in the semi-final of the Medicine Hat tourney, which didn’t please the Vulcan owners. Next trip to the bank, Gillick was asked “Did Wesley pay you?” When Gillick said yes, they docked his pay. Gillick was earning $250 a month.

Two weeks later, Gillick pitched a four-hitter and fanned 17 to give Granum top prize in the Calgary tournament.

And, at Fernie, he pitched Granum to an 18-1 victory and a spot in the final. Granum won against all-comers, from Edmonton to Medicine Hat.

Granum went on to win league and provincial championships before moving to Lethbridge.

Gillick had hitch-hiked from LA to Alberta as a teenager, trying to save money. He made it into Salt Lake City, then Idaho Falls, then Helena and then Great Falls.

The Hall of Famer remembers teammates and opposition: like Ron Fairly, who played for the Montreal Expos and Gillick’s Blue Jays in his 21-year career as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s and California Angels; Len Gabrielson, who played nine seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and California Angels.

There were fierce Western competitors like Jim Lester, Bill Fennessey, Darwin Walkingshaw, George Wesley and his son, who played second base. In the 1950s, Wesley — an avid ball fan — imported players from Texas, Oklahoma, California, Arizona and all over North America to come to the tiny Alberta community.

And then there were the hockey players who spent their summers on the diamond like Vic Stasiuk, who played parts of 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins, Bert Olmstead, who had a 14-year career with the Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, Earl Ingarfield, who played 13 seasons for the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Max Bentley, who skated for 11 seasons with the Blackhawks, Maple Leafs and Rangers; plus Hank Bassen who skated nine years for the Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Besides Vulcan and Granum, Gillick pitched for the Edmonton Eskimos in 1958.