(David Anderson photo: North Dufferin Baseball League president Sean Hayward (right) presents Gord Dunn with the President’s Award at a ceremony in Lisle on March 8 in recognition of decades of service to the league as a player, coach, executive member and umpire.)
Local baseball junkies in the area know the name of Gord Dunn. How could you not? Dunn has been a significant figure in the North Dufferin Baseball League scene for as long as I can remember.
Last week, he was immortalized in the league being recognized with the President’s Award. Only a mitt-full of men have been given this honour.
My first run-in with ‘Gordie’ was way back in the 1980s when he was the league statistician. I was on the sports beat for the old Creemore Star when the publisher told me to get in touch with Gord. He said, Gord was on top of the league.
No question there. Gord, of course, loved his home-town Lisle Astros, a team he played first base for many years, but he was also the league’s biggest advocate.
At that time, The Star was the only newspaper to cover the league and Dunn knew the importance of getting the information to the public.
He knew that I wanted information on the Creemore Barons, the team namesake at the time, but he was sure to include other area teams. As a result of his incredible perseverance of promoting the league, I became very knowledgeable about the happenings of the Mansfield Cubs, Stayner Squires, New Lowell Knights, and Lisle Astros.
After Gord retired from the statistician job, many tried to replace him but just couldn’t. Who could? You see, not only was Gord an analytics junkie, he has a personality that is bursting at its seams.
Local baseball followers know this. It’s Gord’s seams you see at the back of the plate. For four decades, Gord has umpired in the league and has taken more than his share of bashing from coaches, players and fans alike. He is however quick-witted and can chirp with the best of them.
Even though Gord has won a national championship with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers, a provincial title with the Astros, he never won a Strothers Cup, the hardware handed out for winning the league.
Often, you’ll hear him say that may be the biggest hole in his heart.
It just shows you how difficult it is to win the trophy of Ontario’s oldest hardball league – a league that started in local cornfields and is now played in hamlets, towns and cities in southern Ontario.
Eight people have ever been honoured with the President’s award, only three are alive today.
The significance of the award is grand. Gord is a worthy recipient.
He was after all, a consistent .300 hitter, statistician, umpire, league president and the NDBL’s greatest promoter of all time.
It’s your day Gord, the league tips its hat to you.