Diamond memories are forever for Pomeroys

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This article was published 05/05/2018 (2957 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Softball was always a shared experience for the late Jim Pomeroy and his family, so it was entirely fitting that they came together to celebrate a big part of his life on Saturday.

Pomeroy, who died in 2005 at age 55, was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame on Saturday at the UCT Pavilion in the Keystone Centre, with his widow Judy, and children Trevor and Jana in attendance with a larger group of about 30 family and friends to witness the honour.

“My sister and I pretty much grew up at Curran Park,” Trevor said on Saturday. “We were there pretty much three or four nights a week and on the weekends. We spent a lot of time there and a lot of people in the room here tonight were at those games and around those campsites enjoying good times.”

“All of our best memories are stories and good times had at a ball park,” Jana added.

Jim Pomeroy grew up near Alexander, playing softball as a youngster at Alexander School and later for his high school, Vincent Massey in 1967.

After graduation, he helped form the Highballers/Clubbers team that played in the Brandon Commercial Fastball League in 1970. Two years later they joined the Brandon Centennial Fastball League, with Pomeroy winning a batting championship in 1974 and the squad capturing the league title a year later.

“He was really talented,” Judy said. “He was a good athlete in lots of things he did. He was always in the game and looked forward to it. It was fun for him.”

Judy said there was a period when it looked like the family would be transferred through his work at Manitoba Telephone System and he considered it unthinkable because he wouldn’t have his ball team with him. In the end it didn’t happen.

“Thankfully,” Judy chuckles.

In 1976, he became a member of the senior A Pizza Place Merchants, playing first base on a team that won several league titles and represented the province twice at the western Canadian B championships.

While some kids might resent the time away from their friends, that certainly wasn’t the case for Trevor and Jana.

They actually saw their buddies at the games.

“It was just our way of life,” Jana said. “We were always either in a camper or a van headed somewhere or in a hotel or ball field. The kids figured out something to do while the games were on, and whether we watched or not, the kids were all a big family too. It was a fun time.”

Trevor and his friend Nate Andrews often served as bat boy.

While they may have sometimes been busy at other things during games, both are aware of who their father the ball player was.

“I think everyone knows him as a lefty, a left-handed first baseman and a hitter,” Jana said. “I think he chatted a lot and kept the team positive. He was known as a team player, and that’s always important.”

Trevor agreed.

“He was a key cog on the teams that he played on,” he said. “A lot of those guys played together under different team names, but it was the same core group. He was a fixture at first base and was pretty steady at the plate too.”

After his playing days ended, he continued to give back by coaching both of his children.

“He obviously loved the game and wanted to share that with us too,” Jana said.

The family found out about their father’s unique honour through softball hall of fame president Murray Blight of Brandon.

Along with the pride and happiness they feel, it provided Jim one last chance to unite his family through the game.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Trevor said. “We don’t get together as a big group like this very often. We’ve got everybody together on both sides of the family. We’re getting to celebrate as a big extended family, and celebrate him and the game of fastball.”

The 2018 induction class also included former Killarney resident Gregg Waldvogel, now of Portage la Prairie, the late Edgar Stevenson, Ed Gilroy, Ashley Lanz and Jill Mathez as athletes as well as Dave Boch and Reice Pelletier in the all-around category.

The 1997-2001 Gladstone Whips and 1976-78 Mariapolis Blues went in as teams.

“It’s really neat to be here with all the old friends from years ago,” Judy Pomeroy said. “Jim loved ball. He loved fastball. It was really his thing.”

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