The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame honoured its 2025 class on August 16. Photo: Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame

*This article was originally published on Saskatchewan Dugout Stories on September 9. You can read it here.

September 11, 2025

By Joe McFarland

Saskatchewan Dugout Stories

They have been pioneers and trailblazers for baseball in communities across the province.

The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated its 40th induction ceremony with the Class of 2025 in mid-August.

The Alex Dillabough Centre played host to the annual event where 11 individuals and three teams were recognized for their contributions to the game.

Hall of Fame president Ray Beck says it was an emotional evening for those being honoured.

“Every time a plaque was handed out, it was a very emotional moment,” Beck told Battlefords Now.

Among the highlights was a presentation to hall CEO Jane Shury, acknowledging her and her husband, Dave, for starting the ceremony 40 years ago.

The hall also received a $5,000 cheque from the Battlefords Hotel Association as the first platinum sponsorship, which Beck says will go a long way in raising awareness and more.

Thanks to some notes from the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, here are some brief highlights of each member of the Class of 2025.

Kasmer Andreychuk (Yorkton)

The product of Yorkton, Kasmer Andreychuk has been involved in the game of baseball at a variety of levels. He started out playing as a young boy in his hometown, as well as in Saltcoats and Esterhazy, before coaching his son’s teams between 1977 and 2002.

The highlights of his career include helping the Yorkton Midget Expos claim provincial silver in 1997, and then a bronze at nationals the following year in Red Deer.

Andreychuk also served as Zone 4 governor with the Saskatchewan Baseball Association for four years.

Glenn Connor (Beechy)

It has been six decades of baseball strong for Glenn Connor. The Beechy native was a dominant pitcher and infielder for a variety of teams, including the Beechy Breakers, Dinsmore Senior Kings, Dinsmore Kings Old Timers, Riverhurst Raiders and Riverhurst Thumper Old Timers.

He helped his clubs to a plethora of wins over the years, including provincial championships and a national title with the Thumpers in 2016.

Those who nominated the now coach and manager for the Hall of Fame say he’s exemplified not only excellence on the field, but also integrity, leadership, and an unwavering dedication to the game and his community.

Sherman Cottingham (Clinton Township, Michigan)

Few people can say they were recruited by the great Satchel Paige, but such is the case for Sherman Cottingham.

Referred to as “The Professor,” the Louisiana native was approached by Ken Nelson to join the North Battleford Beavers in 1963, spending two seasons in the Western Canada Baseball League, where he threw a no-hitter and earned the team’s MVP award in 1965.

Serving as the guest speaker for the induction ceremony, Cottingham told the audience that no achievement is made alone and credited teamwork for every success, adding his time in North Battleford helped shape his life after baseball.

Penny Fitzsimmons (Saskatoon)

Penny Fitzsimmons’ name has become synonymous with Baseball Canada’s Women’s National team. First brought on as the team leader and business manager when the team was first formed in 2004, she’s now spent 21 seasons with the program.

She has handled numerous World Cup events, arranging meals, transportation, training camps, uniforms and more. Fitzsimmons says the most rewarding part of her experience was watching the athletes growing into “strong, independent, amazing women.”

Fitzsimmons adds it has been an “amazing ride” getting to spend her summers with the players, coaches and staffs over the years.

Murray Gray (Maymont)

By today’s standards, Murray Gray got a late start on baseball but he is still very much active in the game.

The Maymont native began his baseball journey at the age of 15 as a catcher in 1948 before moving onto almost every other position, including pitcher.

With no league nearby, Gray only played in tournaments and says one of the highlights was suiting up in the Saskatoon Exhibition, calling it a “dream come true,” only to have it rained out and lost on a coin-flip.

Ken Hamilton (Assiniboia)

The 2024 baseball season became the last in a decades-long run as a baseball volunteer for Ken Hamilton. The Assiniboia native first started working with Baseball Sask in 1992 as the Zone 3 Director.

He spent years in different roles before being elected as president for a two-year term in 2006 while also serving as a board member for Baseball Canada and the Western Canada Baseball Association. Once Hamilton finished his term, he returned to a variety of roles within the organization, including co-commissioner in 2017.

Not content with working with the organization, he was involved with the Twilite Provincial Championships as a player and a coach, while also becoming an umpire and mentor.

Logan Hofmann (Muenster)

He’s not even 26 years old yet, but Logan Hofmann has accomplished more in baseball than many others and has already traveled the world.

The Muenster product helped his hometown Red Sox win provincial championships and numerous awards and accolades before heading off to college at Colby and Northwestern State University.

A fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020, Hofmann spent three seasons in the Pirates’ minor league system before playing independent ball with Trois-Rivieres of the Frontier League and most recently won a Deutsche Baseball League championship with the Heidenheim Heidekopfe.

Kevin Payne (Lloydminster)

Kevin Payne has become a fixture of the baseball scene in the border city.

He won his first provincial championship in 1996 and joined the Lloydminster Meridian Twins in 2000 as they began a run of 11 North Saskatchewan River Baseball League championships in 20 years, including 2002 when they won all three tournaments they played as well as the provincial title.

Payne was voted as Twins MVP several times as well as NSRBL All-Star and led the league in offensive categories nearly every year. He even served as co-manager of the team for nearly a decade.

Rye Pothakos (Saskatoon)

You can forgive Rye Pothakos for not being at the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony on Aug. 16. As it turned out, he was busy winning his first Western Canadian Baseball League championship with the Regina Red Sox that same evening.

Pothakos is a long-time baseball builder in Saskatchewan, including being the president of the Saskatoon Senior Baseball League and different roles with the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets, the Saskatoon Fall Baseball Program, and many others. He was also an MLB associate scout with the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals.

Proud of his heritage, Pothakos has also managed, scouted for, and coached the Greek national team, leading Greece back into the top pool of European baseball nations between 2017 and 2021.

Darren Schaan (Regina)

It’s been more than five decades in the game that Darren Schaan loves, suiting up for several Regina teams over the course of his playing career.

In 1993, he moved to the Regina Drifters – who later became the Regina Red Dogs – in the Qu-Appelle Valley baseball League, where he won Rookie of the Year.

Schaan resurrected the Drifters in 2007 as a Twilite Baseball club and entered them into the Canadian National Oldtimers Baseball Federation National Championship, where they have played almost every year since. He’s now a co-organizer with the Saskatchewan Sportsmen 50_ team that heads to Phoenix every year in the Men’s Senior Baseball League World Series of Baseball.

Max White (Goodwater) – posthumously

The product of Goodwater, Max White didn’t start playing baseball until he was about 15. Known for his speed, the young catcher was also a vocal leader for the teams he played on in the 1950’s and 1960’s, always encouraging and directing his teammates.

After his playing days were done, White stayed involved in baseball by teaching himself how to be an umpire while also coaching ladies softball and supporting young players. He was remembered for his distinct “strike” call at the diamond, and friends say he gave countless hours to the game in his hometown, adding he was “the epitome of a good sport and a true gentleman.”

White passed away in March 2024 at the age of 86.

Riverhurst Thumpers (2005-2015)

Founded and organized by Stan Dean, the Riverhurst Thumpers became a Twilite Baseball staple of Saskatchewan.

Dean was a long-time player, umpire and baseball supporter, who was recruited to play semi-pro baseball but stayed on the farm and in the Riverhurst community, eventually inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 before passing away in 2006.

Another key person in the Thumpers’ history is Al Summers, who played and coached with the team for 33 years. Former players say he was asking about availability “as soon as the snow began to melt,” adding he was just as valuable on the field with his bat.

Melville Bantam ‘A’ Millionaires (1978)

It’s hard to imagine how a team could start a season without a coach or a manager, yet somehow manage to find their way to a Western Canadian Baseball championship. Such was the case for the Melville Bantam ‘A’ Millionaires in 1978, as they started the spring by practicing on their own.

Eventually, local Maple Leafs Billiard pool room owner Matt Stelmak came in to help the squad and brought along Steve Matichuk and Bill Merritt, who helped guide them to the championship in Lac La Biche, Alberta.

In another crazy turn of events, the team almost didn’t go to the tournament due to concerns over the team having bantam-age players head to a higher-level event. Just a week before the trip, players say they ran into an issue where some people involved in the Melville minor sports community felt they shouldn’t be attending and parents of some players agreed.

The Millionaires were able to pick up some players from Saskatoon, Maple Creek and Leader, then went on to capture the title with a win over Calgary.

Battleford Bantam ‘A’ Beavers (1992)

Made up entirely of local players, the Battleford Bantam ‘A’ Beavers were actually classified as a ‘B’ team because of its population base. Instead, they decided to play a level up and didn’t look out of place at all. Playing only in tournaments and exhibition games, the Beavers rolled to tournament wins in Kindersley, Wilkie, Saskatoon and the Battlefords, while facing Saskatoon teams and St. Albert in exhibition contests.

During the regular season, the Beavers went 21-6-2 and 9-6 in the playoffs. They then hosted provincials, going undefeated throughout the tournament before finishing with a 12-7 win over the Saskatoon Braves. The squad then headed to the Western Regional Championships in Stonewall, Manitoba, which became an adventure when their bus broke down, leading to them missing a pre-tournament practice and a coaches meeting. After losing their first game, the Beavers ran the table to the end, knocking off St. Albert 6-5 in extra innings in the final.

The Beavers were named the 1992 Team of the Year by the Saskatchewan Baseball Association.

McFarland: Saskatchewan Baseball HOF honours class of 2025