Antonacci: Wiwchar, Manitoba’s Mr. Baseball, honoured by Canadian ball hall

Legendary Manitoba baseball coach and executive Joe Wiwchar (Morden, Man.) chats to friends prior to his induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Photo: J.P. Antonacci

June 20, 2023

By J.P. Antonacci

Canadian Baseball Network

While coaching baseball in Manitoba for 60 years – often leading two or three teams at once – Joe Wiwchar preached a consistent message to his players.

“I always try to teach them respect – respect yourself, respect your teammates, respect the other team, even the umpires,” Wiwchar said.

He wanted to see his players cheering after a home run and picking up their teammates after an error.

He would not abide players on his bench trying to distract opposing infielders circling underneath a pop fly, and he expected the boys and girls in his charge to shake the umpire’s hand after the final out.

“There’s more to the game than winning,” Wiwchar said.

“I always say you have to learn how to lose before you learn how to win. Just be respectful with everything.”

In recognition of his contributions to the sport as a coach, volunteer, administrator and executive, Wiwchar added to a long list of accolades when he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., on June 17.

“He’s done everything. And not just for a year or two,” said Murray Zuk, a fellow Manitoban and longtime MLB scout who worked closely with Wiwchar on the founding executive of the Manitoba Baseball Association.

“He remained on that executive for 21 years, including one term as president,” Zuk said. “Everybody recognized how valuable he was and they wouldn’t let him out of their sights.”

Born in 1935 in Winnipeg, Wiwchar played baseball growing up but didn’t start coaching until some neighbourhood girls came to the 18-year-old’s house in 1953 in search of a softball coach. Wiwchar enjoyed the experience and agreed to coach again the following season.

He didn’t stop for more than six decades.

“I just kept working at it,” he said.

Wiwchar said his coaching style changed constantly, as the game did.

“At that time there was no (coaching) clinics to help you out. You’re learning by watching somebody else,” he said.

“If you tell me that you know everything in baseball, get out of it, because you don’t. It’s always changing. Methods change, training is changing. You learn how to handle kids better.”

Wiwchar was known to employ a tough love approach, but only if the situation warranted it.

“Sometimes you have to kick their butts, other times you leave them alone. Other guys need a pat on the back all the time. You learn that,” he said.

Zuk had many occasions to watch Wiwchar in action and always came away impressed.

“He’s very intense, he’s very knowledgeable, and he cares about kids. Cares about people,” Zuk said.

“Those are the ingredients of a good coach.”

When not working his day job with the Manitoba Telephone System, Wiwchar was in constant demand at the baseball diamond, coaching at all levels at home and overseas.

He won provincial titles, brought home a silver medal from the 1977 Canada Summer Games, took kids to showcases in Japan and France, and won 14 Border League titles in 28 seasons as coach of the senior Morden Mohawks.

“One summer, he coached five teams,” Zuk marveled. “He coached provincially, nationally, internationally. His teams went everywhere. And coaching was just a small part of what he did for baseball.”

Joe Wiwchar has devoted seven decades to baseball in various roles in his home province of Manitoba. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Off the field, Wiwchar was on the Baseball Canada executive and planning committee and served as president of multiple leagues. Several halls of fame count the humble Manitoban as a member, including the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame in Pennsylvania.

In 1998, Zuk was on the selection committee looking for a home for the new Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. Morden was on the short list, and the clincher was Wiwchar agreeing to be the museum’s first curator.

“We selected them and Joe took that job, and 24 years later he was still the curator,” Zuk said.

Starting with no artifacts and little money, Wiwchar created a hall of fame that became the envy of other sports museums its size, with a website featuring recorded interviews with more than 250 inductees.

He arranged for department stores to donate their unused display cases for the nascent hall of fame and recruited farmers to pick up the cases and drive them over in their grain trucks.

“He just had so many good ideas,” Zuk said. “We’ve been told it’s one of the best sports halls of fame in Canada. That’s what he’s accomplished.”

Wiwchar retired as curator last year but still helps his successor troubleshoot problems and navigate grant applications.

“That’s the type of guy he is,” Zuk said. “They just don’t come any better.”

Wiwchar speaks with pride about the relationships he forged with his players over the years, some of whom he coached from 13U to senior ball.

He was especially touched by how many former players turned up at a tribute night organized by the town of Morden – whose baseball diamond bears Wiwchar’s name – just before he left for St. Marys.

“Three guys came from Winnipeg that played for me 50 years with a junior team. That just broke me up,” Wiwchar said.

“That’s the thing. I’ve gone to some weddings (of former players), and a couple of those kids who go to high school by the hall of fame, they come over during lunchtime and we talk. We don’t even have to talk baseball.

“Yeah, I’ve won some championships. I’ve probably lost more than I’ve won. But those are the things – to have guys come from 50 years ago, or kids two years ago.”

After spending a lifetime building up the sport in his home province, Wiwchar is pleased to say the state of baseball in Manitoba today is “very good.”

When he moved to Morden in 1970, there was one midget team and one bantam team.

“Now there’s over 400 kids registered in a town of 9,000,” Wiwchar said, noting that Winkler and other surrounding towns also have popular programs.

“That whole southern area is baseball,” he said.