Elliott: Ridley inducted into Milton Hall of Fame

The late Jim Ridley (Milton, Ont.) was part of the fourth annual Milton Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies. He played pro, then joined the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Stratford Kraven Knits before scouting for the Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins. Photo: Tyler Gerrits.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Bill Byckowski was a teenager when he met Jim Ridley.

Later Byckowski played for Team Canada Olympic team in 1988.

Byckowski took over for Bobby Prentice as the head of Canadian scouting for the Toronto Blue Jays and Ridley beat the bushes looking for talent.

In 2007 Byckowski had Ridley on his staff as Ontario, represented by the Georgetown Eagles, won the peewee nationals in Quebec City.

And in 2008 Byckowski was in the hospital room at Brant Hospital in Burlington an hour before Ridley drew his last breath.

“Having met him when I was young he had quite an impression on me because of his knowledge of hitting, it was incredible how much he knew, how much he helped me,” Byckowski said. “Later on we were back together.”

Byckowski spoke in a film tribute to the late Ridley at the fourth annual Milton Sports Hall of Fame before a standing room only crowd at the Milton Sports Centre.

Ridley hit lead off on the mural in the hall way. He always was quick stealing 17 bases in 19 tries for the class-A Greenville Braves and the Sarasota rookie-league Braves in 1964, his first of two seasons with in the Milwaukee Braves system.

Also inducted were:

_ Janet Campbell, longtime gymnastics coach who built up the Milton Springers and drew the biggest round of applause when she walked into the hall. Campbell zipped through off her speech with nary a look at her notes.

_ Darren Haydar, who played novice hockey in Milton, junior, university and earning American Hockey League all-star honors. He played junior with the Milton Merchants, spent four seasons at the University of New Hampshire, then playing pro with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, Chicago Wolves, Grand Rapids Griffins, Lake Erie Monsters and 23 games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers and the Colorado Avalanche. He also played for Munich EHC ND and Lausitzer Foxes in Germany, Zagreb Medvescak in the Kontinental Hockey League, VSV EC in Austria.

_ Leon Stickle, an NHL official for 40 years, who was also a former Milton Merchant. Stickle was on the ice with Milton referee Bruce Hood as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Stickle recalled: “I remember looking at Bruce and saying ‘Two guys from Milton, can you believe this?’”

_ Neil Teague, accomplished softballer, shone on the provincial, national and international stage.

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For Byckowski and Ridley it was a life-long friendship.

“The best part with Jim was that his knowledge was outstanding,” said Byckowski. “It didn’t matter what level of baseball with Jim. His commitment to the game was second to none. He helped kids at so many levels. He helped kids get into pro ball. He helped a ton of kids get college scholarships. He helped a ton of kids enjoy the game.

“His love of the game came through when he walked onto the field.”

Byckowski said one of the saddest days ever was a spring day in Florida. Ridley always wore an Australian cowboy hat. You used to be able to see the hat bobbing along over the hedge at Connorvale Park arriving early for a Scouting Bureau workout.

Ridley took his hat off and placed it on the roof of the car as he and Byckowski were deep in conversation.

“We drove away and Jim didn’t realize that he’d left his cowboy hat on the roof of the car,” Byckowski said. “I never saw a guy so upset, he was so desolate.”

The two veteran scouts turned around and head back but were unable to find Rid’s lid. After answering “Jim what happened to your hat?” about 1,000 or so times, he placed a mail order Down Under for another hat and all was well again.

“Jim could handle all the situations,” Byckowski said. “Players respected him. Its what made him so effective, he could handle any situation, he was so easy going.

“When you are dealing with coaches, parents and players you have to have a feel for the situation. Jim always had that.”

Shayne Ridley played two season in the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals organizations. Jeremy Ridley played one season in the Blue Jays system. Shayne was a Canadian Baseball Network first Teamer in 2000, while playing at Ball State. Their sister Shannon lives in Waterdown, Ont.

Former Blue Jays scout Ed Heather who travelled many a mile with Byckowski and Ridley attended the induction ceremony.

Legendary coach John Haar (North Vancouver, BC) nominated Ridley for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 and he was inducted that summer.