The Westman Border Fastball Museum is now open to the public to view the many gems of history within its walls.
The Westman Border Fastball Museum Inc. formed to preserve local fastball history, it is a collection of items that sports enthusiasts have gathered to preserve the rich fastball history that has taken place over the last 90 years.
130 teams who played border fastball between Manitoba and Saskatchewan included on the museum’s list of names. The stories include those of the Langenburg Braves and Colts who were active around the late-70s.
From June 17-19 the fastball museum organizers will host a Kicking Up the Dirt Fastball Reunion. There will be a ladies fastball game on Friday the 17th when the Inglis Lady Nightmares face off against the Roblin Angels. On Saturday, it will be the annual Hall of Fame Game, where all the legends will play a 4-inning game. Meanwhile, at 5 P.M. there will be a home run contest. The first twenty entries will get to hit ten balls to win one of three prizes.
There is a surprise honoured guest who will throw out the opening pitch for the hall of fame game.
There will be 50/50 draws. Brad Mazur will sing O’Canada before the hall of fame game on Saturday. He will also provide entertainment in the evening at the beer gardens that night. Mazur is from the Angusville area; he and his guests will provide country and western music.
On Sunday, June 19th there will be a 3-team regular fastball tournament featuring the Inglis Regals, Rhein Rockets and Fleming Jets. The trio will play a round-robin tournament starting at 12 P.M. Manitoba time.
Admission for the events on June 17-19th will be a donation.
The museum will be open every weekend now, manned by a few volunteers. The volunteers are usually at the museum on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. If anyone during the week would like to bring a group for a tour, you can contact the organizers for a tour. Admission for the museum is $5 a person normally, but for the weekend of June 17-19 there will be no admission charged.
A New League, A New Beginning
As a catalyst to spur the interest in fastball for the area, the museum group established a competitive league to showcase their talents. The 3-team fastball league is called the Westman Border Fastball Museum Twilight League.
The teams are the Borderline Legends, the Onanole Sporty Originals and the Southeast Express.
The Southeast Express are the entry from the Yorkton to Moosomin area.
The Borderline Legends include players from around the Asessippi Area.
The Onanole Sporty Originals hail mostly from the Onanole area.
On June 25th, Fleming is hosting a one-day round-robin tournament at Green Acre Park representing the Saskeast Express. One of the organizers, Larry Nernberg, said, “It’s worth the drive just to come and see this ballpark in a small little town. It’s one of the most beautiful parks in Saskatchewan.”
On the night of the 25th, the Fleming Jets will also play an exhibition game against the Whitewood Flyers for anyone interested in watching fastball.
On July 10th Onanole will host their tournament.
“We’re trying to get the game back. It’s too bad it was let go for so many years but there are some young teams starting out; notably, the Inglis Regals who are bringing the old name back. They have a lot of the old Regals’ sons and grandkids who are coming out to start this new team.”
Last year on August 14th and 15th, the Westman Border Fastball Museum held its official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. The weekend also included games highlighting the sport of fastball including the first hall of fame game. In last year’s game, for Team Saskatchewan, players came from Flemming, Stockholm, Esterhazy, Grayson, Kendelton, Melville, Kamsack, Wroxton, Langenburg, Churchbridge, Saltcoats, Gerald and more.
If you are interested in camping at the Asessippi Campground you can call Karen Goraluk at 1-204-773-6797. If you would like more information about the events you can call Daryl Nernberg at 1-204-773-3014 or Larry Nernberg at 1-306-745-3396.
The West-Man Border Fastball Museum (WBFM) is located 20 KMs north of Russell, MB off Highway 83 at Asessippi Beach.