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.

Calgary Cardinals: All-Time Team

The Calgary Cardinals helped professional baseball take flight in the southern Alberta city.

Arriving in 1977, the club offered Calgarians their first ever Pioneer League franchise, and with it, a rookie-level, minor league affiliate.

We look at the best of the two years of the Cards with our latest All-Time Team.

Lethbridge Black Diamonds: All-Time Team

The Lethbridge Black Diamonds never experienced a losing season and the rookie-level franchise produced plenty of Major League Baseball (MLB) players in just three years of existence.

But which players were the best of the best? Who qualified for our Lethbridge Black Diamonds All-Time Team?

Find out here …

The Pat in the Hat

Booted baseballs, hotel hijinks and rowdy road trips punctuated their pursuit of the pennant.

These were the star-studded Medicine Hat Blue Jays of 1982 and Pat Borders was right in the middle of it all.

Candy Crush

The Candyman can.

He proved that in San Francisco and in Cleveland and in Toronto, too.

But before Candido Maldonado brought his can-do attitude to those Major League Baseball (MLB) markets, he established a name for himself in Lethbridge, Alberta.

R.B.I. Baseball: All-Alberta Team

For baseball fans and gamers of a certain vintage, Nintendo changed what it meant to enjoy the sport in a groundbreaking way.

With the 1987 release of R.B.I. Baseball, arcade goers and home video game players were able to interact with America’s pastime on a different level.

And, lo and behold, some Alberta baseball stars were part of the fun …

Uphill Battle

Rickey Hill dreamed of playing pro baseball.

While he didn’t play in Major League Baseball, the Texan did spend time in the minors despite his considerable adversity.

Hill’s journey, which included a stop with the Lethbridge Expos, is the basis of the new Netflix movie, The Hill.

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.

Hyers Learning

In order to claim a World Series championship, you have to make the right hires.

For the Texas Rangers – who coaxed manager Bruce Bochy out of retirement with impressive results – that included luring Tim Hyers to the Major League Baseball (MLB) organization.