In The Cards: ’96 Medicine Hat Blue Jays

They weren’t very good.

And neither were the baseball cards they graced.

But there were some bright spots on the roster, nonetheless.

Let’s meet the 1996 Medicine Hat Blue Jays…

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 …

In The Cards: 2024 Medicine Hat Mavericks

We break down the 2024 Medicine Hat Mavericks team set, and keep an eye out for the Alberta Dugout Stories logo, which appears on several cards.

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 …

In The Cards: 1987 Edmonton Trappers

It was the summer of 1987 that sealed Edmonton’s reputation as the City of Champions.

While sports teams had gathered championships, it was actually the response to that summer’s deadly tornado that led to the term being used.

Our latest “In The Cards” looks back at the Trappers of that season, who had a largely underwhelming season.

In The Cards: 1990 Calgary Cannons

It was the summer of 1990 and life was good for Calgary baseball fans.

If you went to Foothills Stadium to take in a Triple-A game that season, the odds were good that you’d get to see shortstop Omar Vizquel pick a ball out of the infield dirt and fire it over to first baseman Tino Martinez to record an out.

If you were really lucky, you might show up on one of the nights that outfielder Jay Buhner suited up for the Cannons that year.

For those who collected baseball cards, the sports collectibles business was booming.

In The Cards: 2000 Calgary Cannons

The Cannons were in their second year of serving the parent Florida Marlins and their final few seasons of existence as a minor-league team.

An appearance in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) championship series in 1998 – their third franchise loss in the finals – was barely visible in the rearview mirror.

There were, however, bright spots on the 2000 roster, as we discover in this edition of In The Cards …

In The Cards: 2023 Medicine Hat Mavericks

Baseball fans at Athletic Park witnessed a wild ride of a season for the Medicine Hat Mavericks in 2023.

The campaign – which marked the 20th anniversary of the Mavericks playing in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) – included a mid-summer coaching change, the return of the team owner in a baseball uniform, and a playoff run that fell just shy of a championship title.

It was a glorious summer along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, with some of the magic of the WCBL club captured in this 30-card set.

In The Cards: 1993 Calgary Cannons

As far as rosters go, the 1993 edition of Calgary’s Triple-A squad was not the best that the Cannons had to offer the Stampede city.

However, they did offer up a new look with some pinstripes.

Take a look back at the roster and the uniforms in our latest In The Cards.

In The Cards: 1994 Calgary Cannons

It’s a funny thing.

This series is called “In The Cards”, which would lead you to believe that the main stories of a particular season are reflected in the cardboard collectibles on display.

However, the 1994 Calgary Cannons team set might be better known for the players not in it, like Alex Rodriguez and Darren Bragg.