2010 will be remembered forever at Seaman Stadium.
The Okotoks Dawgs retired jersey no. 2010 during a tribute to Mayor Bill Robertson on July 24 in front of approximately 2,700 fans prior to the Dawgs-Edmonton Prospects game at the stadium. Bill's wife, Elaine, his three sons, grandchildren and family friends were guests of the Dawgs.
“He was a friend of the Dawgs,” said William Gardner, a Dawgs director and master of ceremonies at the tribute. “When I approached Bill with the idea (of changing the Dawgs entrance road to Don Seaman Way) he wholeheartedly endorsed it.
“Mayor Bill beamed and had tremendous pride when he announced the renaming of Don Seaman Way.”
Gardner added Robertson helped the Dawgs with the construction of Conrad Field and other projects.
2010 was the year Robertson was first elected mayor. He died from cancer on July 7, while still in office.
Robertson beamed a lot about the Dawgs. He had season tickets on the first base side of Seaman Stadium, usually taking his wife Elaine, but now and then one of his three sons. Especially on the third Sunday of June.
“We would spend most Father’s Days with dad, sitting here at Seaman Stadium,” oldest son Michael said. “It was fantastic.
“It was simple, take in the balls and strikes and we would sit and have a beer and a hot dog. We would talk about the events in the town, talk about baseball, just quality time with Dad.”
Mike wasn’t quite as big a fan as his dad, but he kept in touch. He was often on holidays during the Okotoks Dawgs’ four championship runs, so he hasn’t seen a championship game – yet.
But he knew how the Dawgs were doing.
“We would be checking our phones, twitter, we were paying attention – dad would be giving us updates,” Michael said.
The family tradition continued. Bill would often take his grandchildren to Dawgs game.
Grandson Mason, (Jeff’s son) who is going into Grade 10 at Holy Trinity Academy, threw out the opening game pitch on July 24 with a heater that would bewitch Vlad Guerrero Jr. -- or senior for that matter.
“It was really entertaining,” Mason said of going to Dawgs games with Grandpa. “He would tell me stuff about baseball. Just the experience – it was fun.”
Michael recalls trying to watch the Jays during one of their World Series runs in either 1992 or 1993. However, dad’s dedication to family and community got in the way. Bill was helping co-ordinate a hockey tournament his son Jeff was playing in at the Triplex.
“He was going back and forth to the Triplex making sure everything was okay,” Michael said. “It was really important for him to watch the Jays’ World Series run together as father and sons(Jeff, Michael and Bradley) kind of thing.
“He was a huge baseball fan over the years. When there was a possibility for the Calgary Dawgs to move to Okotoks, Dad was a huge supporter.”
