The City of Welland is proud to celebrate and honour the Welland Jackfish’s Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) championship win with a special event at Civic Square on Thursday, September 28, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Capturing the IBL championship on September 16 in Barrie, the Jackfish have been home celebrating their franchise-first championship with community members, making their next stop at City Hall.
“Since arriving in Welland, and especially throughout this season, the Jackfish have provided our community with exceptional entertainment and showcased the highest calibre of play in the league,” said Mayor Frank Campion. “While many may be familiar with their fun and games at the Welland Stadium, it’s worth noting that the Jackfish are also a championship-calibre community partner.”
The Jackfish seek opportunities to support the Welland community, regularly raising and donating tens of thousands of dollars to support our local community groups.
Jackfish players and coaches will be on-site to meet and sign autographs as part of the free festivities. Complimentary hot dogs and soft drinks will be available, and activities for all ages will run for the duration of the event.
This year, the Jackfish drew crowds totalling over 44,000 and raised over $70,000 in funds that were donated to community groups and organizations.
Congratulations to the Welland Jackfish on a very successful season in the Intercounty Baseball League by winning not only the regular season pennant but by capping it off with capturing the playoff championship last weekend.
The Jackfish, in just their fourth season based in Welland after moving from Burlington, compiled a 31-11 won-loss record during the regular season. Then in the playoffs the club fashioned a 10-4 record sweeping the Branford Red Sox in the first round and then won the semi-finals defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to two. In the finals against the Barrie Baycats the Jackfish dropped the first two games but then came roaring back to win four straight to clinch the series. The clincher in Barrie was a convincing 17-1 bombardment.
This championship is very significant and a feather in Welland’s sports cap when you consider the Intercounty League has been around a long, long time. In fact, it was 1919 when the League was founded with four clubs. It has always operated in Ontario and over 104 years has attracted teams stretching from Windsor to Ottawa.
Welland is just the second Niagara-based team to participate in the IBL. The first was Niagara Falls from 1985-89 playing out of Oaks Park.
The Intercounty League is a high calibre loop which boasts ex-major league players, elite NCAA college players plus some of the top baseball players in the province. While it has attracted former major leaguers the league has also proven to be a stepping-stone for future major league players and over the years has helped produce some promising future stars.
This year, the Jackfish were not only winners on the diamond but at the box office as well as they drew over 44,000 fans for home games at Welland Stadium or as appropriately called the “The Pond” to go with their name. And there were a number of games where the turnstile count surpassed the 3,000. That was very impressive.
When the city built the ballpark in the late 1980s to accommodate the New York Penn League team called the Welland Pirates they never came close to attracting 3,000 patrons. After two seasons the single A club, which was a farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was gone. The ballpark was labelled a “white elephant” by some observers because it was so little used. Thanks to the Welland Jackfish they have erased that label. It is a ballpark that Wellanders should be proud of and the Jackfish have helped it along the way with improvements. It is a top-notch facility.
It’s obvious the Welland Jackfish have definitely rekindled baseball interests in the Rose City in grand style and the regular season and playoff championships should help even more down the road for the future. Afterall, Welland is no different than most other cities when it comes to supporting teams whether it be baseball, hockey or whatever. Welland sports buffs love and support a winner. Give them one and they will come out of the woodwork. And come out they did this season as they almost doubled last season’s turnstile total of 23,000 fans.
Of course one has to commend not only the players but the management of the Jackfish for a job well done resulting in a championship. First, management (general manager Jason McKay and president and team owner Ryan Harrison) went out and rounded up some talented players to put together a winner. In other words, they did their homework. And the Jackfish, under the watchful eye of field manager Brian Essery produced a winning formula on the diamond.
But give management some extra credit too which resulted in impressive turnouts. They went that extra mile to make the fans feel more comfortable and welcome for home games, offering a premium seating section by installing new seats instead of aluminum benches to sit on. Plus for extras, they introduced Baseline VIP Tables located next to the dugouts down both the first and third baselines. Those touches helped too.
I remember as a youngster going to Burgar Park back in the 1950s with my dad to watch the Welland Stokes play in the Niagara District Senior Baseball League. The old wooden grandstands stretched down just past first and third bases. The stands were usually full, especially when Welland played the Niagara Falls Cataracts.
I was impressed with the surroundings. The old scoreboard in deep centre field wasn’t electronic like at The Pond. It was manual in those days and large numbers represented each inning for both the visitor and home teams. A home run over left field fence usually wound up on Burgar Street or hit a nearby factory over right field. Foul balls over the back stop if they didn’t land in seats wound up either on the railway tracks or the old Martin’s Dairy parking lot.
Burgar Park was usually jammed packed in those days with fans. Now years later at The Pond the crowds are back once again. I realize it is different era and a new generation of fans but baseball in Welland is alive once again. Thank you Welland Jackfish for making it happen. This club is an asset to the City of Welland.
(Wayne Redshaw has covered and written about sports throughout Niagara for more than six decades).
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