By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The first year I was ever invited to speak at the BC Coaching Convention and Clinic, I saw more than the class rooms at Douglas College.

Instructors Remo Cardinale (Mississauga, Ont.) and Rick Johnston (Peterborough, Ont.) were also attending in 2006. We were all booked on the same flights: westward on Friday and homeward bound on Sunday at 7 a.m.

I told convenor Mike Kelly that was too quick a turnaround for an old goat like me and would come a day earlier. So, I flew out Thursday morn and Kelly met me at the airport. “Where do you want to go?”

Let’s see some ball parks.

He said you have to meet the “Sir John A. MacDonald, of the British Columbia Premier League,” Canada’s best league. We took a ferry boat to meet the league’s founding father, Clyde Inouye, who was based in Parksville and was the general manager of the Parksville Royals.

After that, Kelly and I went to eat with Royals coach Dave Wallace, an impressive old-school man, a man who had the best interests of his players at heart. The three of us had a “good, old-fashioned baseball meal," with stories, laughs, surprises he’d coached and more stories for desert. His passion for the game and his players was as clear as our window view of the Straight of Georgia.

“Everyone really liked Dave,” said Minnesota Twins scout Walt Burrows (Brentwood Bay, BC). “Dave and I grew up together, played baseball and basketball together. He was a real close friend.”

Wallace and Burrows were teammates on the 1968 Oak Bay High School hoops team which won the BC provincial title. They were teammates playing Pony league ball. Both attended the University of Victoria.

“As a coach Dave was old school, similar to Bob Smyth (whose star pupil out of Etobicoke grew up to be Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto). Dave took the players that showed up and tirelessly worked on teaching basic fundamentals of the game.

“Winning was always secondary to him. Developing players that could move on to the next level was what he strived to achieve.”

Our day tour included the home of the annual Parksville tournament, Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo, the Empress Hotel in Victoria and some other parks. Meeting Wallace and Inouye was the highlight.

* * *

People -- baseball people -- were talking about Wallace and their memories of the coach after Wallace passed early Monday morn at Comox General Hospital due to cancer, according to Baseball BC.

Wallace was a legend in BC circles and devoted a huge amount of his time to the thousands of athletes he worked with over the years, the hundreds of coaches he encountered in competition and the sport in general.

The Parksville duo had a unique vision in 1995: the best players should play against the best. At the time there were Connie Mack, Babe Ruth, Colt, Pony, BC Minor and Little League loops. Play would end about July 15.

It all started as the Island Premier League in 1995 with five teams the Mid-Island Canadians, Nanaimo Pirates, Victoria Investors, Victoria Capitals and Parksville.

Eventually it grew into the BC Premier League. The virus damaged the Premier league this season, as it did across the country, but 13 teams are working out for next season, plus 13 junior teams and most clubs have bantam teams too.

* * *

Langley Blaze’s veteran boss Doug Mathieson, who doubles as a Milwaukee Brewers scout, said flatly “there would not be a PBL without Dave.”

“Dave held his players accountable, he was honest with them, cared about them and had great integrity both on and off the field,” Mathieson said. “I coached against him for years and with him on some Team BC trips together. I’ll miss his sarcastic and subtle sense of humour.

“This is truly a loss.”

* * *

Mike Parlow is the GM of the Parksville team Wallace coached for 23 years.

“Dave demanded that his players play with enthusiasm, grit, and determination,” Parlow said. “Dave was a competitor and hated to lose. At the same time, in over 20 years of coaching, he always put the long-term development of his players ahead of short-term victories.

“He encouraged his players to put their best effort into everything they did on the field, at school, at life. Dave believed you don’t take shortcuts because it shows up in the results. Always.”

The first time Parlow met Wallace came when Parlow took his son to a free clinic the Royals had put on for 9-10 year-olds.

“My son loved every minute of it,” Parlow said. “The Royals put on clinics all over the North Island and had done so for years. The Royals are an institution on Vancouver Island and across the province of BC in no small part due to the efforts of Dave Wallace. As co-founder, volunteer, and head coach, Dave believed in working towards a goal and giving back.”

* * *

Former San Francisco Giants farmhand Brooks McNiven, who pitched seven seasons in their system peaking at triple-A Fresno, described Monday as a “tough day here in BC.” McNiven was unaware Wallace was sick.

“This caught me totally by surprise,” McNiven said. “Dave was coaching when I played in the league. I remember he always showed up to the field with a smile on his face. He was happy to be there and make a difference in the lives of the players he coached.

“He always had time to talk ball and wanted what was best for the kids and what was best for the game in BC. It’s a sad day ... he was a staple in the league from Day 1.”

* * *

Ted Hotzak has met a coach or two in his tenure as BC Premier League el Presidente, which began after the 2002 season. He respected “Sir Dave.”

“Dave was a truly unique person in the sport,” Hotzak said. “The only two other people that come close are Clyde Inouye and Walt Burrows. These were the guys that had a vision and did not have any ego that needed to be satisfied. They only cared about one thing - developing players and getting them ready for the opportunities that opened up for them.

“Without Walt, Dave, Clyde, and Lowell Hodges, we probably would not have had a PBL in BC.”

* * *

John Ircandia runs the successful Okotoks Dawgs academy and the Okotoks Dawgs summer college team. The Dawgs would regularly attend the Parksville tournament.

“I was so sad to read this,” Ircandia said. “What a complete class act. I got to know Dave at his Parksville tournament. At that time, it was probably the most elite, pre-draft, tournament in the country. Later, I would bump into him from time to time in Arizona at major league spring training games.

“Among all the ‘baseball crazies’ and the serious competition, Dave was a consummate gentleman and a pleasure to deal with. This is sad news indeed.”

* * *

Corey Eckstein coached the Abbotsford Cardinals before moving to Ancaster and joining the Ontario Blue Jays this year. He knew Wallace well.

“Dave was somebody that I turned to for advice as a young coach,” Eckstein said. “After I heard of his passing, I went and dug into my archives of emails between the two of us. They left me with a smile. He always had the kids best interest at heart and was never afraid to speak to what he believed in.

“He also had some damn good players in Parksville over his tenure that people often forget about. He is a big reason why the BCPBL is what it is today. He will be missed.”

* * *

One of those “damn good players,” Eckstein had in mind was INF Taylor Green (Comox, BC). After his days with the Royals, Green headed to Cypress College and was selected in 25th round of the 2005 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Green played at rookie-class Helena, class-A West Virginia, class-A Brevard County, class-A Wisconsin, double-A Huntsville and triple-A Nashville before being promoted to the Brewers Aug. 31, 2011. With Milwaukee losing 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals, Green pinch hit for starter Randy Wolf in the fifth inning.

He lined a single to right on a 1-2 pitch from Jake Westbrook. Standing on first base, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols said “hey, nice hit ... congrats.” The Miller Field fans -- 38,073 in all -- gave Green a standing ovation.

His final major-league at-bat was Oct. 3, 2012 when he grounded out against San Diego Padres pitcher Cory Burns. Green played 78 games for the Brewers (plus three more in the 2011 postseason) hitting .207 with 10 doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs. He joined Milwaukee as a scout in 2016 and had the wisdom to hire Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.)

Former Royal C Bobby Lee Cripps (Powell River, BC) was a 40th round choice of Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. After 96 games at rookie-class Great Falls he was dealt one-for-one straight up to the Toronto Blue Jays for OF Otis Nixon in 1997. Upon his arrival, Nixon was teased by long-serving Jays -- including Mike Timlin -- for attempting to bunt and making the final out of the 1992 World Series.

Timlin: “Why on earth would you bunt with two out in the deciding game of the World Series?”

Nixon: “Did you see how awful my swing was on strike one?”

In 1999, Cripps hit 29 home runs at class-A Hagerstown in 1998. He played five seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Dodgers and Jays organizations, batting .253 with 54 homers in 364 games.

Former Royal LHP Ethan Stewart (Campbell River, BC) was a 47th rounder in 2010 by the Philadelphia Phillies from New Mexico Junior College. He was signed by future Hall of Famer Pat Gillick. Stewart pitched five seasons at rookie-class Gulf Coast Phillies, class-A Williamsport, class-A Lakewood, class-A Clearwater and double-A Reading. He was 17-29, with a 4.58 ERA.

Green, Cripps and Stewart were all on the all-time BC roster Burrows had evaluated since 1991.

The other Parksville pros: RHP Vince Perkins (Victoria, BC), an 18th rounder by the Jays in 2000 (33-33, 3.72 with six saves in 185 games over eight seasons in the Jays and the Brewers organizations), Mark Hardy (Campbell River, BC) a 43rd round choice by the San Padres in 2010 (19-21, 3.48 ERA in 63 games) and INF Carter Bell (Courtney, BC) chosen in 29th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks from Oregon State in 2011 (.253, eight home runs, 70 RBIs in 183 games). .

* * *

Things will be different around Inouye-Wallace Field when this Year from Hell ends. And 2020 didn’t get any better on Monday.

Our deepest condolences to Wallace’s wife Judy, his family and friends.