{"id":75356,"date":"2024-03-18T20:44:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T02:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=75356"},"modified":"2024-06-21T11:19:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T17:19:31","slug":"calgary-cannons-memories-burn-bright-22-years-after-final-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/03\/18\/calgary-cannons-memories-burn-bright-22-years-after-final-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary Cannons memories burn bright 22 years after final pitch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Cannons relocated to New Mexico following the 2002 season after 18 seasons in Calgary. (Image by Kale Crisp\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLots of kids today don’t even realize the Cannons existed,\u201d says Joe McFarland, co-founder of Alberta Dugout Stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Calgary Cannons played professional baseball in the shadow of McMahon Stadium\u00a0 from 1985 until 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n

Competing in the Pacific Coast League, they served as the Triple-A affiliate for the Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and, most notably, the Seattle Mariners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe mid 1980s until the mid 1990s was an awesome time to be a Calgary sports fan,\u201d says Ian Wilson, also a co-founder of Alberta Dugout Stories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s not wrong. The Calgary Flames hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1989. A perennial contender, the Calgary Stampeders won the Grey Cup in 1992 with Doug Flutie at quarterback and the Cannons advanced to the PCL finals in both 1987\u00a0 and 1991.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cannons came agongizingly close to a title in 1991. The PCL Championship Series that year went down to the wire with a fifth-and-deciding game between the Cannons and the Tucson Toros.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, the Cannons served as the farm team for Seattle. Ahead of Game 5 in Tucson, the Mariners called up ace Dave Fleming, who was scheduled to start for Calgary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cannons lost in heart-breaking fashion with a 4-3 walk off victory for Tucson.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mariners cost this city a championship,\u201d says Cannons broadcaster Mark Stephen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The PCL is the minor leagues, but some of the Calgary players turned into MLB superstars. Looking back, the Cannons boasted unbelievable talent, including players like Omar Vizquel, Edgar Martinez, and a 19-year-old Alex Rodriguez, arguably the best shortstop in MLB history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cannons came so close to fielding first overall pick Ken Griffey Jr., but he made the Mariners out of training camp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know what he went on to do,\u201d says Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the best Mariners of all-time, Griffey Jr. registered 2,781 career hits and 630 home runs through 21 seasons with Seattle and Cincinnati.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe shouldn’t have been in Triple-A,\u201d said Cannons owner Russ Parker. \u201cAnd he knew it,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1995 playoffs, the Mariners played in the American League Division Series against the juggernaut New York Yankees. The series came down to a fifth-and-deciding game, but the importance went beyond that for the city of Seattle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, the Mariners played in a stadium called the Kingdome with rumours of relocation circulating. Fans feared losing the team to Tampa, Florida unless Seattle came up with a new ball park.<\/span><\/p>\n

Team owners demanded a new stadium deal before the end of October 1995, or the team was gone. On the brink of missing the playoffs, the Mariners won a tiebreaker against the L.A. Angels.<\/span><\/p>\n

They started the post-season without superstar ace Randy Johnson.\u00a0<\/span>After losing the first two outings at Yankee Stadium, the Mariners played what could\u2019ve been their final two games in Seattle. Against all odds, they won both, forcing a fifth-and-deciding meeting in the Kingdome.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mariners captured Game 5 in dramatic fashion with an RBI double by a familiar face for fans of the Calgary Cannons. What is now known as <\/span>\u201cthe double ”<\/span><\/a> hit by Cannons legend Edgar Martinez, saved the Mariners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the Cannons one of the most memorable moments in baseball history probably wouldn\u2019t happen,\u201d said Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new stadium they received as a result is still in use today. Seattle hosted the 2023 MLB All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

North of the border, the MLB changed up its philosophy on fielding teams in Canada back in 2001, primarily due to the harsh cold conditions in April and even May.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe struggled to get fans early in the season every year because of the weather,\u201d said Parker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The weather caused problems back in 1985, the first year the Cannons played in Calgary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe inaugural game was postponed two days because of snow,\u201d said Stephen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker debated selling the team to one of two cities. Albuquerque, N.M. or Portland, Ore. He ultimately decided to go with Albuquerque.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sept. 2, 2002, the Cannons played their final game at Foothills Stadium against the Edmonton Trappers. Fans in both cities savoured one last Battle of Alberta.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trappers would relocate to Round Rock, Texas, following the 2004 season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cannons gave the fans a proper send off\u00a0 by beating Edmonton 14-13 in dramatic fashion. Down four runs in the ninth inning, they came back to win the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very emotional night for the organization and the fans,\u201d Stephen said. \u201cEveryone knew this was it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A 21-gun salute sounded, giving the Cannons one last goodbye,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSelling the team was a decision I regret,\u201d Parker said.\u00a0 \u201cI struggled with it for a long time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cannons moved on to Albuquerque for the beginning of the 2003 season and are still there to this day. But their legacy still lives on in Calgary over 20 years later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish Russ Parker could have brought Calgary a title,\u201d McFarland said. \u201cHe really deserved it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Calgary Cannons were a Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and had a variety of future stars on their roster over the years. Including players such as Edgar Martinez, Omar Visquel, and Alex Rodriguez. (Image by Kale Crisp\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n



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\u201cLots of kids today don’t even realize the Cannons existed,\u201d says Joe McFarland, co-founder of Alberta Dugout Stories. The Calgary Cannons played professional baseball in the shadow of McMahon Stadium\u00a0 from 1985 until 2002. Competing [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":864,"featured_media":75359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-75356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-professional-sports","8":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/864"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75356"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77194,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75356\/revisions\/77194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}