From the Diamond to the Gridiron

Baseball fans will be excused if they feel like trading in their cowhide for some pigskin this Super Bowl weekend.

With that in mind, here’s a look at three pieces of trivia involving times when Alberta baseball had links to the Super Bowl …

In The Cards: 1988 Edmonton Trappers

It was a busy sporting year in Alberta.

Calgary hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1988, bringing British ski jumper Eddie the Eagle into the spotlight, along with the underdog Jamaican bobsled team, and the figure skating rivalry between American Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser.

In the National Hockey League (NHL), Wayne Gretzky led the Edmonton Oilers to a sweep over the Boston Bruins for their fourth Stanly Cup championship.

Edmonton’s baseball scene saw the Trappers, the Triple-A affiliate of the California Angels, go 61-80 under manager Tom Kotchman in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), causing the team to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.

Despite the lack of team success, there were bright spots on the squad. Let’s take a closer look in this edition of In The Cards …

Campbell was a Calgary Ace

He was, most likely, the best pitcher to take the mound for the Calgary Cannons.

That’s saying something for a team that was represented by major-league talents like Jim Abbott, Andy Hawkins, Erik Hanson, A.J. Burnett, Ken Forsch, Dennis Powell and Jeff Nelson.

But Mike Campbell wasn’t just a pitcher who honed his craft at Triple-A in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) – the righthander dominated the circuit in the late 1980s.

Expos, Eh?

It’s a question that has sat in the back of the minds of baseball fans for more than 20 years.

Who killed the Montreal Expos?

As Netflix gets ready to release its new documentary, we look at the Alberta farm teams of the ill-fated Expos.

Baseball Call to the Hall

Baseball players, coaches, builders and dreamers are taking their place among the sporting legends of Alberta.

Five major baseball figures in the province – Orv Franchuk, Dr. Randy Gregg, W.P. Kinsella, Mel Kowalchuk and Reno Lizzi – are part of a major induction ceremony that will take place at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame …

Putting on The Show

We look at 10 times that Major League Baseball (MLB) teams played in Alberta …

OPINION: The Nightmare in Calgary

You have to think that baseball people in Calgary look at Okotoks and wonder “what if?”

What if the city had backed the Dawgs instead of forcing them out?

With Foothills Stadium being torn down, it leaves a giant void in the city’s baseball landscape.

Bidding Farewell to Foothills Stadium

The demolition of Foothills Stadium has hit the baseball community like a wrecking ball.

Despite the inevitable end of the facility, which played home to Calgary’s highest levels of baseball for more than half a century, seeing the structure reduced to rubble has left many sports fans heartbroken, angry and despondent.

The Rise and Fall of Foothills Stadium

It’s been home to so many.

And for so long baseball was safe at this home.

Alas, the long-awaited eviction notice has been executed and the bleacher-bashing machinery is dismantling the memory-infused wood, steel and concrete that surrounds the diamond, which was once a playground for some of baseball’s best players.

OPINION: 5 Names for Canadian Hall Consideration

They were the mainstays on prairie baseball fields for years.

Their names are virtually synonymous with the maple leaf, helping show future generations that they, too, could have professional dreams.

They would go onto play the game at the highest level, then come back home to show the way by becoming coaches themselves, giving back to the game they know and love.