Estey: Skidd where he belongs -- in NB Baseball Hall

Hall of Famer Mike Skidd (Saint John, NB) of the Saint John Alpines of the New Brunswick senior loop.

November 29, 2024

By Dan Estey

Canadian Baseball Amateur Central

One of the most well-liked and respected coaches in provincial sandlot history has finally taken his rightful place in the New Brunswick Baseball Hall of Fame.

Former Saint John Alpines bench boss Mike Skidd was formally inducted into the hall at an event in Fredericton. Skidd was the coach of the Alpines from 1992 to 2003 and under his guidance they won five NB Senior League Championships (1993, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2001).

They also won two medals at the nationals, winning the Canadian title in 2001 in Kentville, N.S. followed by a silver in Prince George, BC in the following year.

Skidd (Saint John, NB) played all of his youth baseball in the Saint John minor system starting off with Little League and then Senior Little League. He followed that up playing some midget and juvenile before starting into the senior ranks in the early 1980s.

Newly-inducted Hall of Fame coach Mike Skidd, centre, with Tim Moore, left and Colin Ring.

The league shut down for a few years following that and he resumed playing for the Saint John Blue Jays in 1989. While the league was not operating, Skidd played a handful of years of intermediate league baseball, winning three Maritime titles. In 1982, he won with the Saint John Ten Pennies followed by winning in 1985 with the Saint John James Readys and again in 1988 with the Grannan Schooners.

Skidd was a catcher throughout his career.

“I was a pretty good catcher and always had a good insight into the game” he said modestly. “I had a great skill of being able to anticipate what was going to happen next and had a keen awareness of what was happening around me. I was able to read pitchers very well and knew when they had reached their limit. A lot of these traits certainly helped me out a lot as I moved into a coaching role.”

Skidd played for the Saint John Blue Jays in 1989 and 1990. Part way through the 1990 season, the coach at the time was injured in an accident at work and Skidd stepped into the role for an interim basis for the rest of the season. The following year he would share the coaching duties with another player before he took over full-time coaching duties in the 1992 season where the team was renamed the Saint John Alpines.

After their inaugural season in 1992, the Alpines, led by Skidd, would win the 1993 and 1994 NBSBL League championship and represented New Brunswick at the nationals. The following year, the Alpines would take the NB crown again and represent NB in Chatham, NB. The team won bronze that season and following the NB playoffs there was a mass exodus of players from the roster.

Mike King, left, Tim Moore, Skidd, Colin Ring and Greg (Lid) Arnold celebrate after another championship.

That didn’t deter Coach Skidd though as he started scouring the different ranks of ball in Saint John trying to recruit players for the following season.

“This was one of my favourite memories from coaching” said Skidd. “Because of the exodus of players, I had to recruit a large number of players, a number of them being junior and midget age. This was done out of necessity to make sure the team could operate.”

That year the club struggled in the regular season going 9-19 and finishing in the basement of the NB League standings.

“We definitely took some lumps, that is for sure, but the guys showed up every game ready to play and give everything they had,” he said.

This seemed to be a common theme over the course of Skidd’s coaching career as a number of former players always said that Skidd was the “ultimate player coach” and “always got the best out of his team every game on the field.”

So after a subpar regular season, the Alpines entered the playoffs as a low seed and a lot of work ahead of them. As Skidd put it to me via e-mail, “We had a large mountain to climb that year.” So off they went, they had a first-round date with Robert Stewart and the powerhouse Newcastle Cardinals team of the 1990s. They were able win that series and advance to the league semi-finals against another 90s juggernaut in the Greg Morris coached Chatham Ironmen.

Again, the club preserved and won this series advancing to the league finals against the always tough Fredericton Royals. After a very feisty and hard-fought series, the Alpines sealed the deal, winning that series as well and the 1996 NB championship.

“I took a lot of flak and criticism at the beginning of the year for having such a young roster,” said Skidd. “People kept telling me that these kids were too young to play senior. That being said, this young core played so well all year and it was gratifying to see them end the year on such a high note.”

Skipper Skidd with his Saint John Alpines and the NB Senior League Trophy they won in 1993.

That core became the building blocks for their success down the road at the Canadians in the early 2000s. Skidd coached one more year after that 2002 season before calling it a career.

On a personal level, being a young child who grew up in the grand metropolis of Marysville, Royals Field and The Game was a huge part of our community. You could see the lights on from across the city and big crowds always flocked to the park each night.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Royals Field was always a tough spot for opposing teams to play in. As a youngster, I was always at the field every time I saw the lights.

Players and coaches would always chat with me and Mike was one of those guys that always made time to chat about the game he loved so much.

“As tough as it was to play there, I have some great memories of games at Royals Field” said Skidd. “They had some great teams over the years and some wonderful people that watched the games at the park.”

Hall of Fame coach Mike Skidd and his wife of 43 years Saint Margie.

Personally, Skidd, attended St Thomas University and earned a Bachelors of Arts and Bachelor in social work. That is where he met the love of his life, his wife Margie, and they have been married for 43 years. They also have four daughters together and he has grandpa duties with four grandchildren as well, all of whom live in Saint John.

For his career, he was a social worker for the province of New Brunswick for 34 years working in the palliative care unit for Hospice Saint John. He remains in the role of a social worker but now works for Bobby’s Hospice in Saint John.

“Doing this type of work, you have to deal with different personalities and I think this served me well during my coaching years” said Skidd

Skidd describes himself as “a bit of a home body.” During the summer months he finds himself on the golf course for a few rounds of golf and also enjoys going to the gym daily for his workout. He also enjoys walking on the trail system around the city and is a sports nut still as well.

“I love watching hockey and football,” he said. “I always love watching games on Sunday afternoons.”

When asked if he misses being around the park: “Of course I miss being around the park but I have so many great memories of my time both playing and coaching in the NB Senior League.”

Congrats on the great honour, Mike!

It is well deserved and long overdue!!