Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1976

Date Range To

1977

Materials

PLASTIC, LEATHER, COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Length

6.5

Width

6.5

Description

BASEBALL, 6.5CM WIDE. BALL IS WHITE WITH RED STITCHING AT EDGES; BASEBALL IS STAMPED WITH LOGO, “THE CUSHIONED CORK CENTER, SPALDING, REG. U.S. PAT. OFF., MADE IN U.S.A., SEWN IN HAITI”. BASEBALL IS STAMPED WITH FADED TEXT, “OFFICIAL BALL, NATIONAL LEAGUE, CHARLES S. FEENEY PRES.”. BASEBALL IS SIGNED BY: RON KITTLE, DOUG HOGAN, DENNIS [ILLEGIBLE], DEAN CRAIG, DANNY COULON, MIGUEL FRANJAL, MIKE HOWARD, GAIL HENLEY, MIKE ZOURAS, DAMON MIDDLETON, JERRY BASS, JIM NOBLES, DOUGLAS FOSTER, JOHN BUSH, ROCKY CORDOVA, LARRY WRIGHT, JACK LITTRELL, KEN LIKEWISE, DON LEJOHN, TIM JONES, MARK ELLIOTT, MITCH WEBSTER, JESSE BAY, ERIC SCHMIDT, MIKE HOLT. BALL IS YELLOWED; TEXT IS FADED; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

SPORTS EQUIPMENT

Historical Association

SPORTS

COMMEMORATIVE

History

ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED LEE PRINDLE REGARDING HIS DONATION OF LETHBRIDGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA. ON THE SIGNED BASEBALL, PRINDLE RECALLED, “I WAS [WITH THE TEAM IN] ‘76/’77…I DID NOT SIGN [THE BALL]. [THE PLAYERS] SIGNED [THE BALL] AND GAVE IT TO ME. I WASN’T A PLAYER; I WASN’T ON THE TEAM…THEY DO IT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. THEY DO THAT…FOR COACHES…AND FOR EACH OTHER! EACH OF THE BALL PLAYERS THERE WILL HAVE A BALL THAT’S PROBABLY SIGNED. THEY’LL SIT DOWN WITH THE BOXES OF BALLS AND THE ORGANIZATION WILL PROVIDE THE BALLS FOR NOTHING, OF COURSE, AND THEY’LL SIT DOWN AND DO THAT.” “[OF THE TEAM PLAYERS] I REALLY LIKED CANDY MALDONADO; HE WAS GOOD. BUT, I LIKED THIS MITCH WEBSTER, TOO. NICK HOLT—SOME OF THESE GUYS I CAN BARELY REMEMBER. SOME WERE PITCHERS. I REMEMBER ROCKY CORDOVA…[HE] HAD A GREAT CURVE BALL…LARRY WRIGHT…” “[THE BALL HAS] BEEN ON A SHELF.” ON HIS CONNECTIONS TO BASEBALL AND THE DODGERS, PRINDLE SHARED, “…I HAD WATCHED A LOT OF BASEBALL GAMES…I’M A BASEBALL FAN AND I HAD ALWAYS BEEN A DODGERS FAN…[I WAS WATCHING LOCAL GAMES] AT HENDERSON.” “I GREW UP IN SUNBURST, MONTANA. I CAME TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1967 TO TEACH AT THE COLLEGE…[I] TAUGHT THERE ‘TIL I RETIRED…I WAS WATCHING BASEBALL AND THE [DODGERS] OR THE BASEBALL ORGANIZATION HERE, WHICH WAS WITH THE EXPOS AND THE DODGERS, HAD ABOUT TWENTY GUYS THAT PUT IN A THOUSAND DOLLARS EACH TO START THE TEAM, HEADED BY RENO LIZZI, OF COURSE…THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN 1975, I THINK, WHEN THEY STARTED…THEY GOT INTO THE LEAGUE, AND THE EXPOS WERE JUST STARTING. THEY NEEDED [A] PLACE FOR THEIR FARM CLUBS…SO THE EXPOS CAME HERE FIRST AND I CAN REMEMBER WALT HRINIAK WAS THE FIELD MANAGER WHEN I CAME IN…THE EXPOS CAME UNDER THIS ORGANIZATION…ONE OF THE TWENTY GUYS THAT SEEN ME AT…A NUMBER OF BALLGAMES…SAID, ‘WE’RE LOOKING FOR A GENERAL MANAGER,’ AND BECAUSE I WAS A COLLEGE TEACHER, I HAD SOME TIME OFF IN THE SUMMER SO THAT KIND OF FIT IN WITH MY SCHEDULE…I APPLIED FOR THE JOB, INTERVIEWED, AND THEN I TALKED TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS [AT THE COLLEGE] ‘CAUSE I FIGURED THEY NEEDED SOME PERMISSION TO GET OFF BECAUSE IN THE SPRING…IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT AWAY FROM YOUR JOB. THEY SAID, ‘YEAH, GO FOR IT,’ SO THEY GAVE ME THE JOB [OF] GENERAL MANAGER.” “THE GENERAL MANAGER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BRINGING IN THE TEAM TO THE ROOKIE LEAGUES. THE MAIN ORGANIZATION, THE VICE PRESIDENT…AND THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE…DODGERS BRING THEM IN. SO THEY BRING IN THE TEAMS BUT I HAD TO LOOK AFTER EVERYTHING, LIKE BALL BOYS AND LAUNDRY AND TICKETS AND BUS TRIPS AND HOTELS…SO THAT’S WHAT I DID. BUT I HIRED ALL THE STAFF THAT WORKED AT THE BALLPARK, AT HENDERSON; WE WERE ALWAYS AT HENDERSON…I TOOK CARE OF THE MONEY. PAID THE GUYS THEIR MEAL MONEY. WHEN THEY WENT ON THE ROAD THEY GET THEIR MEAL MONEY ALLOWANCE…I DID IT FOR—FIRST YEAR WERE [WITH] THE EXPOS, THE NEXT YEAR WAS WITH THE DODGERS AND THEN I WAS OUT A YEAR AND SOMEBODY ELSE DID IT. THEY WANTED ME BACK SO I CAME BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR. BOTH YEARS THAT I WAS GENERAL MANAGER, WE WON THE PENNANT. HENLEY WAS A REALLY, REALLY GOOD FIELD MANAGER. HE WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE CHIEF SCOUTS FOR THE DODGERS BUT HE WAS A GOOD FIELD MANAGER AND SO I WON IT…I GOT TWO, NICE, REAL PENNANT RINGS FROM THE DODGERS BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN MY HOUSE WAS BROKEN IN, THEY WERE STOLEN…” “I WORKED—I ENJOYED IT, REALLY. I MET A LOT OF BALL PLAYERS. I MET BALL PLAYERS THAT WENT ON AND PLAYED IN THE MAJORS…LIKE GREG BROCK…I [USED TO] GO TO SPRING TRAINING IN ARIZONA ALL THE TIME AND I’D SEE SOMEBODY DOWN—LIKE GREG BROCK [WHO] WAS PLAYING THEN FOR MILWAUKEE, I THINK, AND I’D…GO TALK TO HIM.” “…THERE WAS BASEBALL UP HERE [IN LETHBRIDGE] BEFORE [THE DODGERS]…I ONLY CAME HERE IN ’67 BUT I KNOW THERE WAS BASEBALL HERE BEFORE AND THE CULTURE OF BASEBALL IS STILL HERE…WE HAVE THE BULLS HERE…THEY BELONG TO THE SOUTHWESTERN BASEBALL LEAGUE [WESTERN CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE] THEY GET GOOD ATTENDANCE…” “I THINK [BASEBALL] HAS [DONE WELL IN LETHBRIDGE] AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS WE HAVE THIS [LEAGUE]…WHERE THE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS COME [PRAIRIE BASEBALL LEAGUE]…THERE’S A LOT OF INTEREST HERE. OUR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE ALWAYS DONE WELL…[THE KIDS IN THE LITTLE LEAGUE] HAVE HOCKEY AND SOCCER AND A LOT OF STUFF BUT [OUR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE] ALWAYS DONE [WELL]…MY GRANDSON WAS ON A JUNIOR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM THAT WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE CANADIAN NATIONALS…THERE’S A PRETTY GOOD BASEBALL CULTURE HERE, I THINK. I THINK IT HOLDS ITS WEIGHT…I THINK THE SIZE OF THE COMMUNITY IS GOOD FOR BASEBALL…AFTER WE GOT INTO PIONEER LEAGUE THEN CALGARY DECIDED TO GET INTO IT, TOO…” “RENO LIZZI WAS A HUGE BASEBALL FAN AND A DODGER. IF YOU CUT IN, LIKE TOMMY LASORDA WOULD SAY, HE ‘BLED BLUE’, DODGER BLUE…THE DODGERS AT ONE TIME HAD A FARM CLUB IN SPOKANE. AND [LIZZI] WOULD GO DOWN THERE AND HE’D MEET THESE GUYS. HE MET “BUZZIE” BAVASI, ONE OF THE EARLIER GENERAL MANAGERS…HE JUST TALKED TO ‘EM…[LIZZI] WOULD INVITE THOSE PEOPLE UP HERE TO SPORTSMEN CENTRES…WE COULDN’T GET THE DODGERS AT THAT TIME. I BELIEVE THEY WERE IN GREAT FALLS AT THAT TIME BUT WHEN HE PUT UP THE MONEY, THEN HE JUST PUT OUT SOME FEELERS AND [THE] EXPOS WERE LOOKING FOR A PLACE, THEY GOT IN TOUCH WITH LIZZI, THE BOARD, THEY THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START, AND THEY CAME…AFTER THAT, FINALLY, RENO GOT HIS BELOVED DODGERS TO COME TO LETHBRIDGE…ALTHOUGH THEY HAD BASEBALL HERE BEFORE, IN SOME OTHER KIND OF MIXED LEAGUES…I THINK LIZZI WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT. I GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR THAT.” “ONE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTS…HAD TROUBLE SENDING STUFF ACROSS THE LINE. HE DIDN’T WANT TO PAY ANY DUTY ON IT AND STUFF WOULD COME—[ON] BUSES—THEY WOULD TRY TO ACTUALLY…GO TO GREAT FALLS TO [AN] AWAY GAME AND PUT [A] BUNCH OF NEW BASEBALLS IN AND COME ACROSS THE LINE AND THE CUSTOMS PEOPLE DON’T LIKE THAT AND SO HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE PAYING THAT…THEY HAD PROBLEM WITH THE CROSSING OF THE LINE, THE DIFFERENCE IN DOLLAR…YOU’RE PAYING THESE KIDS LESS…THEY EVENTUALLY LEFT AND THEN OF COURSE, EVENTUALLY…WHEN ARIZONA STARTED…WE HAD A FARM CLUB HERE WITH THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.” “WE’RE PART OF THE SOUTHWEST SASKATCHEWAN LEAGUE…WITH THE LETHBRIDGE BULLS AND THEY GET GOOD ATTENDANCE AND THEY HAVE DECIDED, WITH HELP WITH SOME SPONSORS, LIKE SPITZ…THEY MAKE A NICE BASEBALL STADIUM OUT OF IT, OVER THERE. IT’S JUST A NICE THING TO DO; TO GO OVER AND SIT THERE BY THE LAKE IN THE EVENING IN THE SUMMERTIME AND WATCH A BASEBALL GAME.” “FOR ME [THE GOLDEN ERA FOR BASEBALL IN LETHBRIDGE], OF COURSE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TWO YEARS WE WON THE PENNANT…WE HAD A GOOD AVERAGE…GAIL HENLEY HAD A…AFTER THE GAME, WE’D GET TOGETHER WITH THE COACHES, WE’D GO DOWN FOR A PIZZA SOMEWHERE…AND TALK ABOUT THE GAME AND THEY WOULD SAY, ‘WELL –‘, I’D SAY, ‘GEEZ, YOU KNOW THAT FIRST BASEMAN FUMBLED A LOT.’ AND THEY’D SAY, ‘NO, NO, HE’S REALLY GOOD.’ I JUST LIKED THE WAY THAT THEY COULD ANALYZE BALL PLAYERS BECAUSE THEY’RE LOOKING—THESE BALL PLAYERS THAT CAME HERE, THEIR FUTURE, HOPEFULLY, IS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES; THAT’S WHERE THEY WANNA BE…SOME OF THEM THEY COULD SUMMARIZE RIGHT AWAY AND SOME OF THEM, THEY DIDN’T, BUT THERE’S GUYS LIKE RON KITTLE THAT PLAYED HERE. I NEVER THOUGHT HE’D MAKE IT BUT HE HAD SEVENTEEN HOME RUNS IN HIS CAREER AGAINST BOSTON…IT WAS NICE TO MEET THOSE KIDS…ANDRE DAWSON PLAYED HERE. THAT WAS 1975 SO I DIDN’T KNOW HIM BUT I WATCHED HIM PLAY A LOT…SOME OF THE GUYS THAT PLAYED HERE, WENT ON AND BECAME FAMOUS. ANDRE DAWSON, OF COURSE, IS IN THE HALL OF FAME, SO, I THINK THAT’S GOOD.” AN APRIL 22, 1976 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE REFERENCES RENO LIZZI AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS MONTREAL’S PIONEER LEAGUE FRANCHISE, WITH PRINDLE REFERENCED AS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS. ACCORDING TO A MARCH 14, 1979 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE, PRINDLE BEGIN AS GENERAL MANAGER FOR THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS IN 1976, AND REMAINED GENERAL MANAGER WHEN THE LETHBRIDGE DODGERS WERE FORMED IN 1977. FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, AND INFORMATION ON JIM GILLIAM, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190023001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190023002

Acquisition Date

2019-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail