Hazlet joining Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame

Hazlet, Saskatchewan will be inducted into the Community Category of the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday, August 17, 2013, at Battleford, SK.

Baseball has been part of the Hazlet and surrounding community since the early 1920’s. Great senior teams included the Hazlet Blackhawks of the 1930’s and 40’s, and the Hazlet Elks of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.

The earliest record of an organized team is in 1935, but baseball was played in and around Hazlet much earlier than that.

In 1938, the team won 57 of 64 games plus nine tournaments including their own.

That year six players had batting averages over .400. With the development of players through minor baseball, Hazlet was able to dominate the South River Baseball League in the 1970’s and 80’s, winning several league community effort to make the team viable. This meant executive, volunteers and others working together to compete against larger communities and cities to compete in the league.

It was in 1987 when Garth McLeod of Hazlet, was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. Garth was a member of the famous McLeod family that were long time baseball supporters and organizers in Hazlet and southern Saskatchewan. In the 1990’s, it became too difficult, financially, for Hazlet to continue playing competitively, so following the 1992 season, including a trip to the league final, the team folded after the 1993 season.

The league expanded into Alberta and re-named the Western Major Baseball League.

The Hazlet baseball team has left behind many fond memories, helped establish the reputation of Hazlet as a very determined community, and reserved their place in history as the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League Champions in 1987, 1988 and 1989. In total, the team played 12 seasons in the SMBL, made it to the finals six times and winning three championships.

The Hazlet Elks had no fewer than four major league players on their roster including Gerald Wagner, Steve Reed, Vince Shinholster and Willie Hysaw.

Hazlet attracted fans from all over southwest Saskatchewan to see the highest level of baseball being played in the province.

After the loss of the senior team, minor baseball still flourished in the community, and baseball remains part of the recreational activities in Hazlet, but will never again reach the status it has seen in the past.

Baseball was a major social activity for the community, a great athletic opportunity for the players, and led several kids to want to play baseball when they got older.