Make room — 2024 baseball HOF class is a big one

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This article was published 15/11/2023 (778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame has announced that its 26th induction class, which will be honoured on June 15, 2024 — and it will be a large one. The group includes nine individuals and four teams plus one family.

Unlike other sports, which usually identify individual inductees as players, builders, officials, etc., baseball honours them as individuals. This selection process recognizes that in a province such as Manitoba, many people who merit hall of fame consideration probably been involved in various aspects of their sport. Baseball also is unique in honouring families whose accomplishments and contributions merit induction. The halls of fame of other sports should consider both ideas when reviewing their selection guidelines.

The new baseball class consists of three Winnipeggers and five from what the late Gladwyn Scott, the original hall of fame chairman, used to call “outside the great wall of the Perimeter Highway.” Ollie Schroeder served as president, treasurer, registrar, convenor, umpire assignor, scheduler, and coach coordinator in her more then 40 years of service to the Red River Valley Baseball League. She was influential in the formation of the Winnipeg Minor Baseball Association and was named Baseball Canada Volunteer of the Year in 2006.

Derrick Mudge played minor ball in North Winnipeg and junior with Legion 141 Veterans, and senior with the Veterans and Elmwood Giants. Since 2013, he has coached several age-group teams in North Winnipeg. Middle infielder Stuart Gilman played minor ball in Charleswood, junior for the South End Chiefs, and senior for Elmwood and Teulon. After moving to Calgary in 1992, he played senior ball there for 12 seasons.

The rural Manitoba inductees are Ryan Boguski from Brandon, Chris Hofer of Warren, Derek Shamray of Oak River, Ken Sharpe from Minnedosa, and Bryan Swaenepoel of Souris. The Tycoles family from Reston — Ross and Carol, sons Aaron and Rory, and daughter Amy — will be recognized for their contributions to baseball not only in southwestern Manitoba but also provincially.

The four teams are the 1965-1970 Kinosota Cougars seniors, the 1977 Manitoba Summer Games team, the 1990 Oil Dome bantam all-stars, and the 2010 Manitoba Junior League All-Stars, who won the Canadian junior championship.

The ninth individual inductee is the late Eleanor (Knudsen) Callow, who starred in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) from 1947 to 1954. The best place to learn about Callow’s illustrious career is to read a well-researched biography written for the Society for International Baseball Research by Gary Belleville. He states that she was more than the greatest power hitter in AAGPBL history, but was also perhaps the league’s best all-around player. The versatile Callow batted from both sides of the plate and defensively caught and played in the infield and outfield.

Callow, who was married to James Litterick, died in Transcona in 1974 at age 47. She was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2016. Before going south to play in the AAGPBL, the teenager nicknamed Squirt was an all-star in the Greater Winnipeg Senior Girls Softball League. She got her start in the sport at General Wolfe School.

The HOF also will issue two honourary life memberships at the June induction ceremony in Morden. Glennis Scott will be recognized for his enormous contributions to the Hall, where he was an original director and banquet chairman for the first 23 years. Joe Wiwchar earned his life membership for his 24 years as a volunteer administrative manager of the museum in Morden. Jack Callum, who served as the board chair from 2003 to 2011, was named the first honourary life member in 2020. Gladwyn Scott received this honour in 2022.