Re: “Baseball: On this East Vancouver sandlot, everyone is a kid again,” April 14.
As a community newspaper editor 40 years back — the redoubtable Surrey-Delta Messenger — I was reporter, columnist, photographer (using a Canon FT-b), compositer and paperboy delivering to all the local mom-and-pop grocery stores in the two communities.
Covering the Kosmic Baseball League was a highlight of spring and summer editions of the paper we affectionately called the Mess. Most colourful local team was the Cloverdale Seagull Athletic Association whose slogan was “When a seagull s***s, it’s like a s*** from heaven.” The CSAA entered a float in the 1974 Cloverdale Rodeo Parade — a recently-used and quite fresh manure spreader they all crowded into after making room for their stashes of Uncle Ben’s canned beer.
Fun as all that was — just as the funky EVBL will be a great hoot as well, based on Megan Stewart’s terrific feature — never once, not ever, did I catch a photo from the Seagull (slow-pitch) games as good as photographer Chung Chow’s front page capture of fast-pitch action. And the A-39 snap of the batter’s hands blurred frame-left in his f16 aperture setting of the pitcher and runner on second base — wow what slick stuff! I genuflect and admire for sure.
Wm Baird Blackstone, Tsawwassen
