OPINION: Five Famed Names for the Canadian Baseball Hall

“You have to know the past to understand the present.”

As we continue to beam about the state of baseball in Alberta, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate our past.

It’s time for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to consider some of the builders who helped bring the Pioneer League and Pacific Coast League to Alberta.

OPINION: Run for the Foothills

Enough’s enough.

After years of rumours and discussion around the building of a new fieldhouse in Calgary, it’s time for council to move ahead with it instead of getting another committee to study it.

And as Joe McFarland writes, let’s also finally demolish the underutilized eyesore that has become Foothills Stadium.

Calgary Expos: All-Time Team

The Montreal Expos had a professional baseball following that was truly national in scope.

During their 36 years of operation, the Expos ran minor league affiliates across Canada, including Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Quebec City, and Lethbridge.

They also had a Pioneer League club in Calgary between 1979 to 1984, leading to many star-studded performances that we highlight here.

Blast From The Past

If patience is a virtue, Russ Parker has a dugout full of it.

Calgary’s “Mr. Baseball” went through the ringer to bring Triple-A baseball to the city, including rumours, a difficult deal and a snowstorm.

On the 35th anniversary of the team’s debut at Foothills Stadium, we take a look back at the road taken to bring the Pacific Coast League team to Calgary.

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.