I remember when Little League Baseball was introduced to Barry’s Bay in 1960. I was a young teenager at the time so didn’t qualify, but I thought it was a great idea. Complete uniforms were provided for all the young kids to introduce them to organized baseball. I don’t think any girls participated. I think that everything might have been provided through St. Hedwig’s Church, and specifically Monsignor Ambrose Maika. Here are enlargements of the captions in the above news clipping from the Barry’s Bay Review, from left:
Fr. Maika also coached a group of us who were older than those in the Little League. I still remember him hitting out ground balls to the infield. He would call out to us to get in front of those fast-moving balls and tell us,
Don’t be afraid, the worst thing that could happen is that you would get your teeth knocked out!
I hope that an older person can inform us about that program — who provided all the uniforms, baseballs and bats? Who are the coaches in the picture? How long did the league last?
NOTE: If you are interested in having a picture and story featured in The Madawaska Valley Current, please submit the information to Bob Corrigan at madvalleycurrent@gmail.com (marked Heritage Photos). Originals sent to The Current at PO Box 1097, Barry’s Bay K0J 1B0 will be returned.