Pegg: Mary Green brings gold home to Flesherton

Flesherton’s Mary Green with her father Kevin Green.

Letters From Ron

By Ron Pegg

Ontario Baseball Life Member

The month of August was a great month for ball in the Flesherton-Hopeville area. It began when Mary Green - against all odds made the Team Ontario bantam girls team.

Why against all odds? Mary is from rural Ontario and there is a big city complex when it comes to ball as is in many other things. Mary was at the bottom of the rung on the team.

By her continuous efforts and good play, she became the team starting shortstop and batted in the upper part of the batting order. The team was in the Western Canada championship in Saskatoon in the third week of August. The team went undefeated in winning the gold medal.

In fact, - in all but one of the six games, Team Ontario mercied the opposition. The games were, indeed, one sided. Of the many stars for Team Ontario, Mary was right at the top of the list. She hit well over .700, - an amazing figure and her fielding was excellent.

Mary brought home to Flesherton its first Canadian Gold Medal in woman’s baseball and it first Canada Gold Medal in minor ball. Her Father, Kevin whom the people in Southgate know well for his outstanding work in recreation, has won a number of Canadian Gold Medal’s in Old Tymers baseball.

It is outstanding that Mary has brought a Gold Medal to Flesherton, which is the home of modern day women’s ball in Canada. The very first women’s tournament was hosted in this village. It is also significant that she comes from a family that has major significance in Flesherton ball.

Her Father played on Flesherton’s first ball team. He was there in its first game played in Midland. He was part of that team who lost Flesherton’s first ball game by the score of 43-1. There was no mercy rule in that day. When Flesherton scored the first and only run of the game, the Flesherton fans cheered as if we had just won the World Series.

Mary’s Grandmother, Doreen was a member of the founding executive of Flesherton Minor ball.

And so the tradition carries on.

On a side note, our son Jamie who has always had an excellent eye for talent, lives in Saskatchewan. He saw the final two games of the championship.

In his opinion, Mary is one to the very best women’s baseball players in Canada. Jamie, by the way, was the co-coach of Flesherton’s first women’s team with Rick Fremlin. The team won that first Ontario Championship.

Next week, - the rest of the story.