The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Though Len Bolton dabbled in baseball as a young man, his true passion was always hockey. So you can imagine his surprise when he was told he and other members of the Neepawa Cubs would be inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. "After all these years of trying to make it as a hockey player, who would have thought I would get into the baseball hall of fame," says the Flin Flon retiree. The induction ceremony took place last month, 52 years after Bolton played second base for the 1955 Cubs. The team was granted entry based on its four championships in the Neepawa and District League between 1955 and 1960. Now 71, Bolton joined his fellow senior citizen teammates at the induction in Morden, Man. "It was like nothing I had ever seen in my life," says the native of Neepawa. According to Bolton, there were 30 players on the men's baseball team and almost everyone was in attendance. "After 52 years I'd say we did pretty well to have only had four people missing," he says. During his time with the Cubs, the then-18-year-old was quite an athlete, playing ball in the summer and hockey for the Flin Flon Bombers in the winter. Looking back at 1955, Bolton says there wasn't anything he would have changed as far as sports go. "I had the perfect sports life. Playing on the Cubs team was a thrill and we always had a lot of fun," he says. Bolton and the rest of his teammates were each presented with a trophy at the Hall of Fame ceremony. "I was thrilled to be a part of this induction, but to tell you the truth, I was more excited to see the guys from the team," says Bolton, adding that "after spending so many years away from home, you tend to lose contact with people." And he says people were coming in from all over for the ceremony, even from the United States. "Being inducted was a great honour and an accomplishment. I'm very proud of," says the former Cubs player. Bolton adds, "We always played ball as kids, but I really never thought it would come to this." Bolton says while some members of the team had passed away, they were represented by family members at the ceremony, held June 2 at the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in Morden. Bolton moved to Flin Flon permanently at age 19 and has been here ever since. He says he "wouldn't change a thing" and adds, "I love it here."
