CHAMPIONS SPEAK - 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee Doane Raymond Rockies - Team
by Colleen Grinde
Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.
It is my great pleasure tonight to introduce
you to the 1996 Doane Raymond Rockies Midget AA Provincial Champions. In 2018, as a member of our Wetaskiwin and
County Sports Hall of Fame Board, I was pleasantly surprised when we received
the Rockies nomination. I was also
excited as I have a personal interest in and a connection to this team. My son Blair was a team member, my husband
Brian was the assistant coach and I was a loyal supporter and fan.
However, the Rockies provincial championship was 29 years ago,
we’ve all grown older and it’s difficult to remember all the details. Here’s a bit of what we do remember: 1996 was the pivotal year for the boys and
the year that all of the “cards seemed to fall into place”. Some of the team
members had played baseball in either Millet or Wetaskiwin since they were 10
or 11 years old, other team members were new recruits to baseball. In 1996 the Millet and Wetaskiwin boys joined
forces, they had a sponsor and new uniforms and coaches willing to put in the
time. With this new enthusiasm the teams’ ultimate goal was to win the
provincial championship and they and the coaches believed it was possible. Credit goes to coach Heck for figuring out
the winning strategies. At the culmination of league play they were at the top
and thereby earned the right to represent Wetaskiwin at the Provincial Finals
in Rocky Mountain House. It’s notable
that on their way to winning the Provincial Title the team complied a perfect
15-0 win-loss record. In the end these
teenage boys accomplished something that hadn’t been done before and hasn’t
happened since. They became the first
and only age group baseball team from Wetaskiwin to win a Provincial
Championship.
In the room tonight we have children and grandchildren of some
of the team members and coaches. It’s
possible that you weren’t even aware of your dad’s or grandfather’s achievement
in baseball until the announcement of their recognition tonight. You should all be very proud of them. It really is a BIG DEAL for this team to join
the elite group of teams that have already been inducted into the Wetaskiwin
and County Sports Hall of Fame. The
Rockies accomplishment will be now be noted for posterity and in a short time
their team picture will appear on the Sports Hall of Fame display wall in Co-op
Place.
Looking back, it was a lot of fun for everyone involved and of
course winning the provincials made it even more fun. A quote from the Wetaskiwin Times about the Rockies
win sums up their year “To achieve success, whether in life, business or sports
requires dedication and sacrifice. This
team has balanced having fun with success.”
One highlight of the team winning was taking up coach Heck on his “deal
with the devil”, well, actually the deal was with the team. If the team won the Provincials he would let
them shave his head…….and it did happen, the proof is in the newspaper picture
and article that appeared in the Wetaskiwin Times.
The Rockies had community support, parental support, and
coverage in the local media. Tonight, we
acknowledge the team’s accomplishment by inducting them into the Wetaskiwin and
County Sports Hall of Fame. Your
community is proud of you, your parents are proud of you and your children and
grandchildren are proud of you. Relish
this recognition and congratulations!
I’d like now to introduce you to the team. When I call your name please come to the
front of the stage to receive your recognition.
Bill Adams, Shawn Brinkworth, Dan Buskas, Regan Fuhrhop, Blair
Grinde, Randy Heck, Al Hlusiak, Mike Johnston, Dave Myndio, Brad Morrow, Steven
Pahl, Markel Reglin, Chad Soucy, Head Coach Harvey Heck, Assistant Coach Brian
Grinde, Manager Brian Hlusiak. Daryn
Cooper could not be with us tonight.
