Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

HARDBALL, UMPIRE SIGNED

Date

1979

Materials

LEATHER, COTTON, INK

No. Pieces

1

Diameter

7.38

Description

BASEBALL, CREAM COLOURED LEATHER SPHERE. RED STITCHING ALONG SINGLE SEAM. STAMPED WITH, “RAWLINGS, HAITI, LITTLE LEAGUE LEATHER COVER ®, CUSHIONED CORK CENTER, LLB, 5 OZ 9 IN.” SIGNED WITH NINE SIGNATURES INCLUDING, “STAN CARMICHAEL, BILL PARASCNK[?], CLIFF IRWIN, JOHN KOBAL, BILL KUCHERAN, ALLAN KOLT[?], BERT BOSCH, AND HERMAN MELTZ.”

Subjects

SPORTS EQUIPMENT

Historical Association

SPORTS

History

AT THE TIME OF DONATION, GALT STAFF CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH DONOR STAN CARMICHAEL. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS EXTRACTED FROM A LONGER NARRATIVE. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE BASEBALL, CARMICHAEL RESPONDED BY SAYING, “FROM LITTLE LEAGUE RIGHT UP TO ALMOST SEMI-PRO, I SPENT JUST ABOUT AS MUCH TIME WITH [BASEBALL AND HOCKEY] AS FAR AS I COULD GO. THERE WAS NO SPARE TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OFF THE FIELD ON ONE AND BACK ON THE ICE FOR ANOTHER TYPE OF THING. IT WAS JUST A TWELVE MONTH OF THE YEAR, SEVEN DAY A WEEK VENTURE IN BOTH SPORTS. TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, I WASN’T AN ATHLETE. I COULD SKATE, OH I COULD SKATE WITH THE BEST OF THEM, BUT I JUST NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY HOCKEY. I REMEMBER PLAYING IT ON THE FARM, JUST OUTSIDE OF TORONTO, ON STOCK PONDS, AND YOU JUST SKATE FOR HOURS AFTER HOURS AFTER HOURS, BUT AS FAR AS BEING INVOLVED IN A LEAGUE, AND BEING TAUGHT HOW TO PLAY HOCKEY, I NEVER HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY. AND BASEBALL WAS MUCH THE SAME, OR FASTBALL, OR WHATEVER. I THINK THE BEST WAY TO EXPLAIN IT, KEV, WAS I WAS BROUGHT UP IN AN ORPHANAGE, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY SPORTS WAS NOT THAT HANDY, AND YOU WEREN’T ALLOWED TO GO HERE OR THERE AND THAT TYPE OF THING, AND I JUST NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY GET INVOLVED AS A YOUNG PERSON. ACTUALLY, I NEVER GOT INVOLVED UNTIL I CAME BACK FROM OVERSEAS. AND THEN, I DON’T KNOW, WE LIVED OVER BY THE ADAMS ICE CENTER AT THAT TIME, AND I WENT IN ONE DAY, AND WAS WATCHING – AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WAS WATCHING GEORGE WILLIAMS, HE WAS COACHING A TEAM AND I GOT INVOLVED. AND I THOUGHT THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO GET INVOLVED WAS TO START OFFICIATING, WHICH I DID. WELL, AT THAT TIME, THAT WOULD BE IN THE MIDDLE 50S, LATE 50S, I GOT INVOLVED IN MINOR HOCKEY AND MINOR BASEBALL – FOOTBALL WASN’T GOING BY THAT TIME – JOYCIE AND I, MY WIFE AND I, WE BOWLED A LOT, WE WERE PRETTY FAIR BOWLERS BACK IN THOSE DAYS AND JERRY, AS TIME WENT ON, GOT INVOLVED IN HOCKEY AND BALL. I CERTAINLY MISS WORKING WITH THE KIDS. I ALWAYS ENJOYED WORKING WITH THE KIDS, PARTICULARLY IN THE LOWER DIVISIONS, LIKE IN LITTLE LEAGUE YOU CAN TEACH. YOU GET UP INTO THE MIDGET AND JUVENILE, YOU BASICALLY CAN’T TEACH THEM ANYTHING OTHER THAN DOING A GOOD JOB OF OFFICIATING, WHEREAS IN LITTLE LEAGUE BALL OR LITTLE LEAGUE HOCKEY YOU CAN TAKE THAT 20 SECONDS OR 30 SECONDS AS YOU’RE MARCHING THE KID OFF TO THE PENALTY BOX, YOU CAN TELL HIM WHAT HE DID WRONG, AND HOW TO MAYBE CORRECT THAT PARTICULAR BAD MOVE. AND IT WAS THE SAME IN BASEBALL. IT WAS NOTHING TO GET A LITTLE KID, A BRAND NEW KID IN LITTLE LEAGUE AND GET HIM UP TO THE PLATE, AND HE’S ALL OVER THE PLATE, STEPPING ON THE PLATE AND DOING THIS AND DOING THAT, AND IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TAKING THE BAT, AND SAYING. “SON, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO. YOU CAN’T STEP OVER THAT LINE. YOU STAY IN THERE AND YOU’LL BE OKAY.” THAT’S THE WAY YOU TAUGHT. AND YOU GET UP THERE INTO THE OLDER DIVISIONS, YOU DON’T DO THAT. YOU JUST CALL HIM OUT AND THAT’S IT. NO EXPLANATION REALLY; YOU’RE NOT REQUIRED TO GIVE AN EXPLANATION, SO YOU MAKE YOUR CALL AND YOU STAY WITH IT. BUT WITH THE LITTLE KIDS, IT GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH, WHICH I ENJOYED. I ENJOYED DOING THAT, KIND OF LIKE THE FATHER FIGURE WITH SOME OF THE LITTLE KIDS. THEY’D BE, “OH, BOY, I’M IN TROUBLE NOW!” BUT IT WASN’T THE CASE. THEY WEREN’T IN TROUBLE; THERE WAS JUST A MOMENT OF TEACHING AND SHOWING A LITTLE KID THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO BE SCARED SKINNY OF THE OFFICIALS. I THINK A LOT OF KIDS WERE, BUT WHEN THEY GOT TO KNOW YOU, THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE TREATED FAIRLY, SO TO SPEAK, TYPE OF THING, BUT I ENJOYED THAT PART OF IT. I ALWAYS APPRECIATED SOME OF THE PARENTS THAT WOULD COME UP AFTER A GAME AND SAY, “GOOD GAME, STAN, AND THANKS FOR COMING OUT.” THIS TYPE OF THING. THAT WAS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. A LOT OF THE TIME THE KIDS DIDN’T DO THAT BECAUSE, ONCE AGAIN THERE’S THE FATHER FIGURE; THEY WERE A LITTLE HESITANT TO SPEAK TO YOU, POSSIBLY, AFTER A GAME, BUT A LOT OF THE PARENTS WERE VERY GOOD, AND I ENJOYED THAT PART OF IT. I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT WHEN I GOT ON THAT ICE OR ON THAT BALL FIELD, AND DON’T – THIS MIGHT NOT SOUND RIGHT, BUT I ALWAYS FIGURED IT WAS MY BALL FIELD. IT WAS MY ICE. AND YOU, AS A PARENT, EXPECTED ME TO OFFICIATE TO THE POINT WHERE YOUR BOY COULD COME OUT AND PLAY, AND PLAY IN SAFETY, AND ENJOY THE GAME, AND YOU, AS A PARENT, CAN ENJOY WATCHING HIM. AND IF THAT BOY CAN SKATE OFF THE ICE OR LEAVE THE BALL FIELD UNINJURED, HAD A GOOD GAME, LEARNT A LITTLE SOMETHING, THEN THE OFFICIALS HAD ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. I WAS BROUGHT UP IN AN ORPHANAGE; YOU HAD TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND FOR WHAT YOU DID. MAYBE THAT STUCK WITH ME AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS. I DIDN’T HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT TO BE A COACH. I DIDN’T THINK SO ANYWAYS. I LOSE MY COOL EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I WAS THE POSSESSOR OF A PRETTY GOOD TEMPER, BUT I THINK I KEPT IT COOL OVER THE YEARS. I DID IT ‘CAUSE I ENJOYED IT, IT WAS A GOOD OUTING FOR ME, JOYCIE NEVER MINDED, MY CHILDREN WERE BOTH INVOLVED. I GUESS IN ONE RESPECT IT WAS A PAYBACK, PAYING BACK THE GUY THAT DID THE COACHING OR THE GUY THAT WAS ON THE TIME CLOCK. I ALWAYS FELT TOO, THAT WHETHER YOU’RE A TIMEKEEPER, WHETHER YOU’RE AN OFFICIAL, WHETHER YOU’RE A SCOREKEEPER, EVERY KID THAT MADE IT OUT OF OUR GROUP TO THE NHL, WE WERE A PART OF THAT. I REMEMBER LENNIE FRIG, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER HE PLAYED FOR CHICAGO, HE PLAYED FOR THE SUGAR KINGS, AND JERRY PLAYED WITH HIM, AND HE WAS A GOOD KID, BUT I ALWAYS FELT WHEN HE MADE THE NHL THAT WE HAD A SMALL PIECE OF THAT, AND THAT KIND OF MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD TOO. THAT KIND OF MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD. SAM SERBU IS THE ONE THAT COULD GIVE YOU THE INNER WORKINGS OF BIDDING ON A TOURNAMENT LIKE [THE ONE IN 1979], ‘CAUSE I KNOW YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHOEVER WINS THAT TOURNAMENT - WHOEVER WINS THAT TOURNAMENT AND WILL REPRESENT CANADA TO WILLIAMSPORT - WE HAD TO PAY THE FARE. THE HOST CITY HAD TO PAY THE FARE OF THAT CLUB GOING TO WILLIAMSPORT, AND SO YOU HAD TO, OF COURSE, BE AWARE OF THAT AND THEY WOULD HAVE COMMITTED, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD BE - $10,000, $20,000. [SERBU] WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN LITTLE LEAGUE CANADA IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. AND LIKE YOU SAY, WE PUT OUR HAND UP AND SAY THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A SHOT AT HOSTING THE CANADIAN, AND WE GOT THE BID, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, I’LL TELL YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING, THAT – WHAT’S THE MOTEL UP THE STREET HERE, THE BIG ONE? SAM SERBU HAD BOOKED THE HALL ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE LETHBRIDGE LODGE BEFORE IT WAS BUILT. IT WAS BEING BUILT BUT IT WASN’T ANYWHERE NEAR BEING FINISHED, I DON’T KNOW, MAYBE A YEAR OR TWO BEFORE WE HAD THE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND THAT WAS BOOKED. SAM BOOKED IT FOR THE BANQUET AND OTHER FUNCTIONS AND OF COURSE, THAT WAS WHERE A NUMBER OF THE – I DON’T KNOW IF THE TEAMS WERE IN THERE, BUT I KNOW PARENTS, AND TEAM OFFICIALS, LEAGUE OFFICIALS AND CANADIAN OFFICIALS WERE ALL BOOKED INTO THERE, PLUS THE BANQUET. SAM HAD THAT ALL BOOKED BEFORE THE BUILDING WAS EVEN FINISHED. YEAH, AND THEN HE CAME TO ME ABOUT A YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT, AND ASKED ME IF I WOULD BE UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF OF THE LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT, AND I SAID, “YEAH, I’LL TAKE A SHOT AT IT.” IT WAS A PRETTY BIG RESPONSIBILITY ‘CAUSE IT WAS A MATTER OF GOING OUT AND GETTING A CREW TOGETHER, WHICH I DID, AND THEN THERE WAS A LOT OF THEM, SEVERAL OF THE BOYS HAD NEVER WORKED LITTLE LEAGUE BEFORE, AND THAT WAS, TO ME, IT WAS A PROBLEM. ONE OF THE RULES I PUT IN WAS THAT THEY WOULD DO AT LEAST ONE, IF NOT TWO GAMES PER WEEK IN LITTLE LEAGUE BALL TO BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO THE SIZE OF THE DIAMOND, THE SIZE OF THE KIDS THAT YOU’RE WORKING WITH, AND OF COURSE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING LITTLE LEAGUE BALL. AND IT WORKED OUT GREAT. WE HAD A GREAT TEAM OF OFFICIALS, AND ACTUALLY WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY MAJOR PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. THE OFFICIALS, WE ALL, INCLUDING MYSELF, WE ALL DID A GOOD JOB. IT WORKED OUT JUST GREAT. CLIFF IRWIN, WHO WAS, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE WAS A TREMENDOUS BALL PLAYER. MAN, HE WAS A GOOD BALL PLAYER. I DON’T THINK CLIFF HAD DONE THAT MUCH OFFICIATING, BUT KEEP IN MIND; HE HAD A WHOLE YEAR WORKING LITTLE LEAGUE BALL TO BECOME USED TO THAT TYPE OF BALL. BILL KUCHERAN, JOHNNY KOBAL, HERMAN MOLTZ, JUST A GREAT GUY, AND THERE WAS SEVERAL MORE THAT I JUST CAN’T PUT MY FINGER ON AT THE MOMENT. BUT THEY WERE ALL GOOD. IT WORKED OUT EXTREMELY WELL. I HAD NO COMPLAINT WHATSOEVER. I REMEMBER IN PARTICULAR, HERMAN MOLTZ WAS DOING ONE OF THE NIGHT GAMES, THE FIRST NIGHT GAMES THAT WE HAD AND HE DIDN’T GET HIMSELF INTO TROUBLE, IT WAS A CALL THAT HE MADE, AND IT’S FUNNY, SERBU MUST HAVE HAD AN OPEN LINE TO WILLIAMSPORT, BECAUSE AS SOON AS THAT CALL WAS MADE, HE WAS ON THE PHONE TO WILLIAMSPORT FOR VERIFICATION THAT THE CALL WAS RIGHT. AND THAT’S THE CALL, KEVIN, WHERE IT WAS JUST BRAND NEW. LITTLE LEAGUE HAD AN AWFUL HABIT OF PUTTING BRAND NEW RULES IN THE BOOK, AND WITH PRACTICALLY NO EXPERIENCE, WE WERE EXPECTED TO CALL THESE PARTICULAR PLAYS, AND THE CALL THAT HERMAN MADE AT HOME PLATE WAS – LET’S SEE, HOW DID THAT WORK? YOU HAD TO SLIDE, YOU COULDN’T COME IN STANDING UP, I BELIEVE THAT’S WHAT IT WAS, AND HERMAN CALLED THE RUNNER OUT. WELL, I’LL TELL YOU, THE DUST HIT THE FAN, AND RIGHT NOW, IF SAM’S ON THE PHONE TO WILLIAMSPORT, AND IF HERMIE WASN’T 100% RIGHT, AND IT WAS A CALL THAT NONE OF US HAD EVER MADE BEFORE, BECAUSE IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE, OR IT WAS NEVER REALLY PUT IN FORCE DURING THE LITTLE LEAGUE PLAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND HERMIE CALLED IT. AND THAT’S THE TYPE OF OFFICIATING WE HAD. WE HAD GOOD OFFICIALS AND I THINK WE ATTEMPTED TO GET ALONG WITH EVERYBODY, WITH THE KIDS AND THAT, AND SHOW THEM THAT WE WERE THERE TO OFFICIATE THE GAME, AND THEY’D GET A FAIR BREAK WITH US. THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO BE SCARED OF US OR ANYTHING. A LOT OF KIDS ARE; THEY’RE SCARED SKINNY OF A GOOD OFFICIAL, AND WE WERE A NOISY BUNCH, WHICH I INSISTED ON. I ALWAYS LIKED CALLS LOUD AND CLEAR AND LOTS OF, BEHIND IT, SO THE PLAYERS UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS GOING ON, WHICH WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. GOOD TIMES. REALLY A GOOD TIME. I DON’T WHAT HAPPENED, KEV. ONE DAY, I’M DRIVING HOME AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I’VE HAD IT.” AND I QUIT. AND I NEVER, TO MY RECOLLECTION, I NEVER UMPIRED ANOTHER BALLGAME AFTER THAT. I THINK POSSIBLY THE BIG PROBLEM WAS THAT WE JUST, WE DIDN’T REALLY BRING ALONG ANY TOPNOTCH OFFICIALS. WE DIDN’T GET PEOPLE INVOLVED AS MUCH AS WE SHOULD HAVE. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN TORONTO, ONTARIO. WILLOWDALE WAS THE ORPHANAGE WHERE I WAS BROUGHT UP. I CAME BACK IN, I GOT DISCHARGED IN ’53, ’54, AND I’D SAY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, JOYCIE AND I CAME TO LETHBRIDGE. JOYCIE’S FROM CALGARY. I WORKED FOR JOYCIE’S BROTHER, ALBERT STUCKERT, WHO HAD THE LETHBRIDGE BATTERY SHOP, DOWN BY THE OLD ARENA, AND THAT’S WHERE I STARTED OUT AFTER COMING DOWN HERE, AND OF COURSE I SWITCHED JOBS A COUPLE OF TIMES AND WORKED FOR THE CPR, MARQUIS FLOWER SHOP, AND EVENTUALLY WOUND UP AT THE POST OFFICE. I SPENT OVER 20 YEARS THERE AT THE FEDERAL, AND THEN AFTER ABOUT 22-23 YEARS, I WENT TO THE PROVINCIAL COURIER SERVICE, THE GOVERNMENT MAIL SERVICE, AND THAT’S WHERE I FINISHED UP." FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING COMPLETE INTERVIEW WITH STAN CARMICHAEL, AND ARTICLES ON 1979 TOURNAMENT, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20120032000

Acquisition Date

2012-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail