In The Cards: ’91 Calgary Cannons

They were a colourful bunch, those 1991 Calgary Cannons.

Sporting jerseys with white, blue, red and yellow colours, the Cannons looked sharp that season.

This 27-card team set from ProCards added even more colour to the squad. The cards had a yellow, notepad border and a green name bar on the front, as well as a predominantly yellow back for biographical and statistical information.

Sure, a flash might have helped with a few of the photos and allowed us to actually see some of the player faces, but overall this is a decent looking set.

Fans of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) club were spoiled with baseball cards at that time. With the popularity of the cardboard cutouts, Calgary collectors had two different sets to choose from. You can check out the other 1991 set in this In The Cards article.

As for the Cannons that year, they had a great season. The team went 72-64 under manager Keith Bodie and lost in the five-game PCL championship final to the Tucson Toros in a series that went the distance.

The offence was paced by first baseman Tino Martinez, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and was set to embark on an exemplary 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Let’s get to know some of Tino’s Triple-A teammates a little bit better in this edition of In The Cards:

Pitcher **Pat Rice** (bottom middle) was one of the more consistent starters on the team. The righthander, who was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, started 21 games and went 13-4 with a 5.03 earned run average (ERA) over 121.2 innings. He also turned in 59 strikeouts and a complete game. Rice made his only MLB appearances in 1991, getting into seven games with the Seattle Mariners that summer. With the M’s, the undrafted hurler went 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 12 Ks in 21 innings. He picked up a win against the Yankees in his major-league debut and didn’t give up a run in his first 13 innings of work. Rice was back with the Cannons in 1992 – his fourth year in Calgary – for his last pro season of play. After that, Rice became a minor-league pitching coach in the late 1990s. From 2000 to 2007, he served as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Mariners, and then he returned as a pitching coach in the minors for several different organizations from 2008 to 2021.

Righty **Calvin Jones** (middle left) shared the bulk of the closing duties with **Jeff Nelson** in 1991. Nelson was building towards a 15-year career in the bigs that saw him claim four World Series titles with the New York Yankees. Jones was striving for his own MLB breakthrough. Both relievers had seven saves with the Cannons that year. Nelson went 3-4 with a 3.90 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 32.1 innings, while Jones was 1-1 with a 3.91 ERA and 25 Ks in 23 innings. Jones was a first overall pick of the Mariners in the 1984 MLB January Draft and the Californian made his debut with Seattle on June 14, 1991. In two seasons with the M’s, the 6-foot-3 righthander went 5-7 with a 4.33 ERA and 91 strikeouts in his 108 innings on the mound. He picked up two saves in his 65 appearances and continued to play in the minors and for independent league teams until 2002. Sadly, Jones died as a result of cancer on Feb. 12, 2022.

While **Tino Martinez** (bottom left) was the star of the Calgary infield, **Chuck Jackson** (middle) was exceptional at the plate and moved around the diamond to play second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield. With the Cannons, the Seattle, Washington product appeared in 121 games and recorded 28 doubles, 15 homers, 80 runs, 85 RBI and a .285 batting average. Jackson played 82 games with the Houston Astros in 1987-88 and he also suited up with the Edmonton Trappers for 36 games in 1993.

**Dave Cochrane** (top middle) and **Chris Howard** (top right) split the catching work for the Cannons. Howard, a grad of the University of Oklahoma, was in his first of four seasons splitting time between Calgary and the Seattle Mariners. He played 348 games for the Cannons, collecting 33 long balls, 142 runs and 180 RBI during that time. With the Mariners, the California-born catcher appeared in 22 games over three seasons. Howard played both baseball and football with the Oklahoma Sooners. He played his final season of pro ball in 1996 and then became the head coach of the baseball team at Pennsylvania College of Technology. He was named the United East Coach of the Year in 2023. Howard’s catching counterpart on the Cannons also played parts of four years in Calgary. Cochrane, a switch hitter from Cal State Fullerton, suited up in 268 contests with the Cannons. The fourth-round pick played 218 MLB games, all but 19 of them with the Mariners. He was a versatile fielder who played all over the diamond during his time in baseball. In 1992, he played every position for the Mariners except pitcher and centre fielder, which was locked down by Ken Griffey Jr.

Outfielder **Pat Lennon** (top right) flew under the radar a bit on the 1991 squad, but he was a fantastic hitter. In 112 PCL games, the eighth overall pick of the Mariners in the 1986 MLB Draft posted a .329 batting average, 15 home runs, 12 steals, 75 runs, 74 RBI and 49 extra base hits. The North Carolina product had a lengthy baseball career that included several Canadian stops along the way. Following two seasons in Calgary, Lennon played for the Edmonton Trappers (1996-97), the Toronto Blue Jays (1998-99) and Ottawa Lynx (2000). He got into 91 MLB games with the Jays, Mariners, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics and his final pro season was in 2005 with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.

Outfielder **Dennis Hood** (top middle) was a high event player for Calgary. He led the team in strikeouts (97) and had a dismal .178 batting average over 103 games. But the Californian also belted 11 homers, stole 18 bases, scored 52 runs and produced 42 RBI. Not bad for a guy with a .263 on-base percentage. It was this up-and-down profile that likely prevented Hood from getting to the majors. The Cannons represented his high-water mark and the speedster played most of the rest of his baseball on indy league rosters, including time with the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks and Regina Cyclones. His final season was with the Tennessee Tomahawks in 1996.

Thanks for going down memory lane with us, cardboard style. We encourage you to leave a comment about the players and cards below.

We are hoping to create an online digital archive of Alberta baseball card sets with our In The Cards series. We are also collecting Alberta team programs for our historical baseball archives. If you have baseball cards or programs you’d like to donate to our cause, please email us at AlbertaDugoutStories@gmail.com with more information.