Play ball!

East Kildonan

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/08/2025 (267 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s just something about the old ball game that keeps people coming back for more.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon throughout the summer, the ball diamond behind Morse Place Community Centre (700 Munroe Ave.) is humming with activity. That’s when the Flashbacks Slo-pitch Club’s house leagues take to the field, bringing dozens of players over the age of 55 together for some friendly competition.

“We’re out there trying to be as healthy as we can,” said Doug De Graaf, vice-president of the club. “But most of us, it’s just for the fun of it.”

De Graaf, 90, got involved with Flashbacks in 1996, four years after the club was founded.

“I started playing ball in the Winnipeg Slo-Pitch League in the 1980s, when I was still working,” De Graaf said. “When I retired, I thought, hmm…, what the hell am I gonna do? A friend said, ‘well, join us.’ I said, ‘OK, that sounds good to me.’ It’s been very good.”

At its peak, the Flashbacks boasted over 100 members and three competitive, travelling teams. This season, the club is home to 72 members and one competitive team, the Stealers, which competes in the Manitoba Senior Slo-pitch Tournament League and plays regularly on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“This is what we call our house league,” De Graaf said during a Thursday afternoon when 30 members had shown up to play. “The way we pick teams is we throw all the gloves in a pile and split ‘em down the middle. Today, the teams happen to be very even. But sometimes it’s quite lopsided, as well. (Today) we have 15 on each side, so we started with one ball and one strike for each batter, otherwise we’d be here all day.”

Men over the age of 55, and women over the age of 50, are welcome to join. Cost of membership is only $30 for the year. While De Graaf has retired from active play, he still keeps score and helps organize the club. In his time with the club, the team has travelled as far as The Pas to compete in the Manitoba 55-plus Games.

“I enjoy the socializing and the fun of playing ball,” he said. “My legs have quit on me, but other than that … We often have people who can’t run, so we’ll use courtesy runners. Some of us, as real baseball people, head to the pub after.”

When the Flashbacks season wraps up with a year-end barbecue in September, many of the same members reconvene on the volleyball court.

“The same group, a lot of us play volleyball in the winters at John Pritchard School,” De Graaf said.

Anyone of advancing age is welcome to join, De Graaf added.

“We have people walking by sometimes who ask if they can join,” he said. “We always give two free games before they have to pay.”