Monday September 25, 2017

By Dustin Saracini

Okotoks, AB. – The Okotoks Dawgs Baseball Club of the Western Major Baseball League is pleased to announce the 2018 class of inductees into the Dawgs and Seaman Stadium Hall of Fame.

Entering the Hall of Fame in 2018 will be Greg Hamilton, current Canadian National Team director and head coach, as well as David Robb, Dawgs coaching legend and former coach of both the Canadian and Italian National team. He is also the current coach at Mesa Community College in Arizona.

The formal induction ceremony and presentation of awards will take place at the Dawgs Annual Banquet scheduled for Saturday, January 27, 2018.

Hamilton and Robb join a prestigious group of prior inductees including Bob Elliott, Hall of Fame journalist and founder of the Canadian Baseball Network, Blair Kubicek, a founding father and longtime head coach of the Prairie Baseball Academy -- Canada’s first collegiate baseball program -- Don and Doc Seaman, principal donors behind Seaman Stadium and John Ircandia, founding and managing director of the Dawgs Baseball Program.

A bit of background on the 2018 inductees:

Hamilton has etched his mark on Canadian baseball at the grassroots and national level since joining Baseball Canada as a guest coach in 1991. Hamilton was named the most influential Canadian in baseball in 2007 and 2011 and has been featured on the Canadian Baseball Network’s list since its inception. Hamilton has continuously shaped the way the sport has grown, scouting and developing young talent on the Canadian Junior National Team -- plenty of whom have been drafted -- and bringing the best players together to take on the world at the senior level. He is the man behind the scenes, but his national and international accomplishments have always been on full display. He was a member of the coaching staff at the World Baseball Classic and has won gold at the Pan Am games while assembling a coaching staff of Ernie Whitt, Larry Walker, Paul Quantrill, Stubby Clapp and Denis Boucher. Most recently, Hamilton coached the Junior National Team to a Super Round appearance at the U18 World Cup and is the reason why so many Canadians want to wear the red and white.

Robb has played a vital role in the Dawgs organization and currently coaches Mesa Community College, a NCAA division II powerhouse. He has coached the collegiate Dawgs since the club was formed and was instrumental in all four championships. After playing at San Matteo Junior College and Cal-State Fullerton, Robb coached in the Oakland A's organization at the A level. In addition, he played and coached professionally in Italy and has worked with the Italian and Canadian National teams. He also served as manager of the Calgary Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League. Robb is always more than willing to lend a hand in the community of Okotoks and has truly been the heart and soul of the Dawgs program in between the white lines.

Founder of the Okotoks Dawgs organization, John Ircandia, released a statement discussing the importance of Robb and Hamilton and how they have shaped the game of baseball north of the border.

Greg Hamilton:

“The Dawgs are extremely pleased to welcome Greg to our Hall of Fame. The work he has done to create and maintain a credible National Team Program that challenges the very best baseball countries in the world is truly remarkable. My friendship and admiration for Greg goes back to the origins of the Dawgs program and I am thrilled that over the years a number of Dawgs players have played for Greg on Team Canada at all of the junior, senior, Olympic and World Baseball Classic levels. Honestly, I don’t know another individual who could have
accomplished what Greg has done in our National Teams’ Program.”

David Robb:

“It is extremely gratifying to welcome David to the Dawgs Hall of Fame. From a Dawgs standpoint, Dave has not only been a true mentor for a generation of Dawgs coaches and players, but he has also been a key part of Dawgs championships. From the broader baseball perspective, David has had success coaching at every level in the game: youth, collegiate, professional and international. He is truly a national coaching legend.”

In addition to welcoming the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 at the banquet, the Dawgs will also honour its 2017 Summer Collegiate and Academy Players of the Year. A press release will be sent out later in the week regarding the award winners.

For further information regarding the banquet, please contact Angie Cox, Dawgs Manager of Special Events, at 403.262.3294 or via email at angie.cox@dawgsbaseball.ca.

About Okotoks Dawgs Baseball

The Dawgs are a nonprofit organization that began in 1995 as an elite youth development
program in Calgary, Alta. The Dawgs operate six high performance youth teams from ages 13 to 18 that have won multiple provincial, national and Perfect Game championships and a highly successful summer collegiate club that has won four WMBL championships. The collegiate Dawgs are currently ranked first in Canada and third in North America in attendance, averaging over 4,100 fans per game. The Dawgs home is Seaman Stadium, a $22M, state of the art facility featuring two stadiums, four diamonds and outdoor and indoor training centres. Several Dawgs players have played for Team Canada, NCAA and NAIA universities and colleges, and been drafted by Major League Baseball organizations.