Micksburg Men's Rec Fastball League becomes a reality

from Scott Conroy

Micksburg Rec Fastball League a Home Run

The first season of recreational fastball was back in Micksburg this year. Players ranging from 17 years old all the way to mid/high 50’s participated. The league consisted of 4 teams and games were played each Monday night in the ‘burg. It was a short season, beginning in July and ending at the end of August.

For those of you unfamiliar with Micksburg, is situated in the middle of Cobden, Eganville and Pembroke. Micksburg Road runs 17 km long. Cobden Road is at the west end and Hwy 41 meets at the east end. In Micksburg you will find a few things: farm land, a church on Snake River Line, M&R Feeds, a community hall, and of course, the ball field (which made Google Maps). 

Inside the Twins' ball clubhouse the bright white walls are complimented of reminders of all the great players, teams, and games played on the field in Micksburg with pictures circling the room. The ball house also has jerseys of the teams that played out of Micksburg dating back to the 70s and 80s. This is where our story begins...

The Rec League was a conversation in the ball house after many Twins home games. We discussed how we could get more people playing, how we could play more, and how we could keep kids playing upon graduating minor ball. This has been a thing for a couple seasons now. But one night in the middle of June 2017 in the Twins ball house, we said it was time to put our words into action. A schedule and a budget were made, 3 dozen K-master lime green balls ordered in, and jerseys were put in for production.

The North Stars, wearing a royal blue with white lettering were managed by Matt McIntyre and finished the season in first place. Their team was a pleasant surprise as they had a lot of first time fastpitch players that adjusted quite nicely.  They faced off against the Blackwell Brewers in the A final but the game was postponed after 2 1⁄2 innings of play due to rain. The Brewers wore a red jersey; the Blackwell name comes from an old sponsor. Blackwell’s was a popular bar located on the main strip in Cobden owned and founded by Mike Hennessy. Mike’s son, Riley Hennessy, managed this team. Although no longer in business, their legacy lives on via the Rec League. The Micksburg Seniors brought back the purple jersey with the gold lettering. They were the most experienced team in the league and so nicknamed the Seniors. It was great to see players come out of retirement to join this club captained by Jamey Mick. Rounding out the four team league was the Golden Gloves. They wore a slimming burgundy shirt with a Golden Glove logo on the front. This team was managed by Joran Graham. The Golden Gloves finished fourth in league play and were defeated by the Micksburg Seniors in the B final.

A day of ball happened on the August long weekend Monday. People were at the ball field all day and this was the day I believe everyone realized how nice it was to see ball back and the diamond getting more usage in Micksburg. None of this would have been possible without the volunteers, players, and of course, the fans! We will continue to try and grow this league and make necessary changes each season to keep it a fun and enjoyable league to play in.