August 7th, 2013, #36

Page 1

the north grenville

TIMES

Vol. 1, No. 36

The Voice of North Grenville

August 7, 2013

www.ngtimes.ca

Perfect end to Little League Tournament

Jack Higgins throws first ball in final game The 2013 Little League Ontario Minor Division Championship ended on Friday, with the final game being played between High Park Braves and Ottawa South Blues. It was the High Park team who emerged victorious, with a decisive win by a score of 10 - 0. The Braves had dominated most of their games through the week, and were clear favourites going in to the last game of the Tournament In fact, the ten runs batted in on Friday were the lowest number they had

managed all week. The Kemptville Wildcats did well throughout the week, winning two of their three games to reach the semi-final against the Ottawa South Blues. The game they lost was against the eventual Tournament winners. In the semi-final, they were unfortunate to lose by 8 runs to 2. Having a Provincial Championship held in Kemptville was a huge achievement for the Kemptville District, and a boost, too, to the local economy. Eight teams competed in

Photo by Michael Pacitto the event, coming from all parts of the province, from Brockville to Timmons and from Windsor to Ottawa. But the highlight for many locals was the appearance of a legend in softball and fastball in North Grenville. Jack Higgins threw out the first ball in the final game on Friday at the fine age of 90. His entry in the NG Sports Hall of Fame tells a great story. Born in 1923 in Oxford Mills, Jack started playing baseball for the Kemptville Senior Men's League in 1937, and after

his war service, he played in area leagues until 1954. Depending on who you talk to, Jack is known as "Mr. Softball", or “Mr. Fastball�; but one certain thing is that he founded Kemptville's major softball tournaments in 1955 and it grew and thrived for thirty years. Over its history, the tournament raised over $300,000 for Kemptville Lions Club charities including the Kemptville District Hospital and Riverside Park. Jack has served the Lions Club, the Knights of Columbus,

the Kemptville Legion, the Leeds and Grenville Board of Education, as well as hockey, fastball and softball in the region. In 2011, he was inducted into the North Grenville Sports Hall of Fame. It was a great coming together of young and old in Riverside Park on Friday, and a great way to mark the Provincial Championship being played in a location Jack had done so much to develop. A great display and wonderful tribute to local softball leagues.

SIGMA

com puter systems

Serving Kemptville Since 1997

Sales and Service Repairs Upgrades Maintenance New and Refurbished Systems and Laptops

613-258-9716 213 Sanders Street


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.