Dedicated

It is unbelievably hard to keep secrets from people so deeply entrenched in their communities.

So organizers in St. Albert and Calgary had their hands full in putting together surprise celebrations for two staples in their respective baseball communities.

And even a couple months later, both Kurtus Millar and Glen Hansen have a hard time finding the words to describe having facilities named in their honour.

The Pioneers: Calgary Cardinals

If Russ Parker’s middle name isn’t “Persistent”, maybe he should look at changing it.

After having been in discussions about bringing an affiliated team to Calgary for half a decade, he finally succeeded in 1977 with the Cardinals.

In our final installment of “The Pioneers”, we look back at Calgary’s involvement with the league and what it took for Parker to bring future stars through Foothills Stadium.

The Pioneers: Lethbridge Expos

Southern Alberta’s love affair with baseball hit a fever pitch in the 1970’s.

After years of our own circuits and big league players barnstorming through, relationships were built to bring affiliated baseball to the masses.

In the first of our three-part look at the Pioneer League’s days in Alberta, we profile the lead-up to the first game at home for the Lethbridge Expos.