History touches ’em all GNBA,

Oakes Park rounding bases

with momentum after 75 years

 

Dan Dakin, Review Sports Writer
Sports - Tuesday, January 17, 2006 @ 02:00

NIAGARA FALLS The year is 1930 and families in Niagara Falls are feeling the effects of the Great Depression.

Thousands of men are desperate for work, so in what is essentially a make-work project, the now legendary Sir Harry Oakes donates the land and funding to build a first-class sports complex in a farmer’s field at the corner of Morrison Street and Stanley Avenue.  It’s exactly what the city needs to help boost the struggling economy.  Crews of 10 to 20 men work tirelessly getting paid $1 per day to build what is now known as Oakes Park, but in order to put as many people to work as possible, every five days a different crew comes to continue the construction.  Oakes Park officially opened Aug. 31, 1931 and while it gave numerous sports a new home, it was baseball players in the city who benefited the most from the generousity of Oakes and the hard work of hundreds of men.

Prior to 1931, a few baseball teams were organized by different townships in the area including Niagara Falls, Stamford, Chippawa, St.Davids and Queenston.  Bill Gaynon saw an opportunity with the new Oakes Park, so in 1931 he started the Greater Niagara Baseball Association.  Little did he know, the organization would grow to become one of the oldest and most respected baseball clubs in the province.

Both the GNBA and Oakes Park are marking their 75th anniversaries this year, and the festivities will come to a head June 24 with a birthday party for both.  The day’s activities will feature rededication ceremonies, baseball and soccer games, old-time food pricing and a mini-museum set up with memorabilia and old equipment.

“It will be kind of nice. We’re still in the planning stages, so we’ll be adding more stuff to it,” said Jim Atack a former GNBA president and coach who is now in charge of marketing for the 75th anniversary celebrations.  Atack is part of a four-person committee helping to organize the event.  “It’s neat to hear some of the old stories. It puts a smile on your face,” he said. “Baseball hasn’t changed. Some of the equipment has, but you still hit the ball and run to first base.”

One of Atack’s favourite stories is of a 1955 juvenile team, which played in Ottawa for the provincial championship.
With no outfield fences in the park, a massive hit by Falls batter Bruce McCrie rolled under a bus parked in left field. An Ottawa outfielder couldn’t get to it in time, so it ended up being a three-run homer and it started a late-game comeback that ultimately gave Niagara Falls a 9-8 win.

In the three-quarters of a century the GNBA has been around, there have been a remarkable 43 provincial championships. The first was in 1932; just one season after the league was formed, when a team of juvenile A players sponsored by the Canadian National Railway won the Ontario crown.  At that time the players earned almost celebrity status in the city.  “In those days the ’30s and ’40s there was no television and no Internet so people went to see hockey games in the winter and baseball in the summer,” said Atack.  The most recent title was last year, when the Niagara Falls Jacket Cellar team won the Ontario midget title. The best years on record for the GNBA were 1955, 1967 and 1972, when three different divisions were won by Niagara Falls teams.

(click on the picture above to see a movie slideshow of the GNBA Championship teams)
Atack credits the success of the GNBA to volunteers.  “For 75 years the organization has been run by volunteers. With this organization it perpetuates itself. As some of our life members cut back, there is always someone else coming up behind them,” he said. “The volunteers have a genuine interest in the kids and in baseball.”

The GNBA will kick off its 2006 season this weekend when it opens registration for all teams at Niagara Square Saturday and Sunday. Toronto Blue Jays mascot Ace will be on hand for photos Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

Oakes Park gets freshened up; Anniversary

celebration has a full slate


Local Sports - Wednesday, June 21, 2006 @ 02:00

It's a party 75 years in the making.

The Greater Niagara Baseball Association and Oakes Park are celebrating the three quarters of a century mark in Niagara Falls Saturday with a day of sports, music and memories.

Oakes Park first opened Aug. 31, 1931 and while it became the home to numerous sports, it opened the door to launch the GNBA.

Now, 75 years later, the park and the baseball association have become fixtures in Niagara Falls.


The Morrison Street park has been abuzz over the past few weeks as crews give it an overhaul with fresh flowers, new paint and a general cleaning up.

The work will pay off Saturday with an expected crowd in the thousands taking in a full day of activities.

The schedule will start with demonstrations by the Niagara Regional Athletics on the oval track at the park and peewee baseball games on the smaller ball diamonds.

Throughout the day there will be boys and girls soccer games, baseball games, as well as musical performances by Lock 8 and Jeff Bond.

A high point of the day will be the return of an old-time tradition with an NHL Celebrity Slo-Pitch game at 5 p.m. featuring a lineup of players highlighted by Doug Gilmour.

"That was one of the ideas we had when we were planning this and now here we are a few days away and Doug Gilmour is coming down to help us celebrate the 75th anniversary," said Jim Atack, one of the organizers of the GNBA's portion of the event.

"Instead of talking about it and planning things, it will be nice to sit back and enjoy the day," he said.

There will also be a mini-museum set up with memorabilia from the GNBA and Oakes Park itself. Admission to all the events are free.