By Janelle Gergely
The Richmound Rocket Baseball Reunion was held on June 18 and 19 at Richmound.
With five inches of rain in three days, wet conditions threatened plans for the reunion. Volunteerism beamed its finest as Rockets and volunteers drained water off the saturated baseball diamond, the food booth was readied and displays were set up.
Alumni began arriving on Friday. The Sask-Alta League game between Richmound and Burstall had to be cancelled due to wet field conditions. Plans were made to reschedule a game for Sunday afternoon.
Players met at the sports grounds, and with the beer gardens in full swing the celebration began.
Saturday morning registration was at the community hall, and with the coffee on, pictures and uniforms and memorabilia were available for everyone to enjoy. Registered alumni received a commemorative Rocket pin and a book commemorating the 59 years the Richmound Rockets have been in the Sask-Alta League, the only team in league history to do so.
The first item on the agenda was the unveiling of the Richmound Lions-sponsored sign celebrating the Richmound Rockets’ 2009 league championship. Photos of the alumni and the 2009 Richmound Rocket championship players followed.
Led by flag bearers, the alumni marched onto the ball diamond by decades and their names were called out. O’ Canada was sung by Janelle Gergely. A ball game was organized with the 2009 Champs versus the Alumni.
In the evening, people gathered at the community hall. Souvenir hats and jackets were for sale. Masters of ceremonies for the evening were Blair Bosch and Bill Gergely. A delicious beef supper was catered by Dave and Paulette Martin.
The program began with members of the 1951, 1959, 1963 and 1965 teams marching in and posing for photos. The 2009 team marched in to cheers and “We are the Champions” song. A slide presentation was viewed. Guest speaker Bill Stodalka, one of the oldest players in attendance and a long-time Rocket, spoke about the origin of baseball in Richmound. A big thank you went out to all baseball players, managers and umpires over the years. The open microphone proved to be a big hit as various individuals spoke of humorous stories that occurred on and off the baseball field over the many years of Richmound Rocket baseball.
A raffle of a Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jay jersey and Richmound Rocket collector clock was a popular item.
The finale for the evening was music by Stephen Kambeitz and Jason Hellman.