Skyward. Umpire Tom Foran and Combines' catcher Ed Tanner follow an Edmonton fly ball.
(Edmonton Journal, July 9, 1959)
Edmonton manager Stan Charnofsky, with General Manager John Ducey, checks out the
new uniforms.
(Edmonton Journal)
(June 24, 1959) Three of the Combines hang Spero Leakos in effigy. Leakos, the Saskatoon general manager, got a Combines win tossed out on a protest to the league. Left to right are Eddie Tanner, Mike Dayne and Dave Kosteniuk.
Bruce Gardner pitched a 1-hitter as Regina took a 3-0 lead in the playoff series with Lloydminster. (Saskatoon Star Phoenix, September 5, 1959).
Gardner, an All-American at the University of Southern California, committed suicide on the USC diamond in 1971, despondent over a failed pro baseball career.
Lee Murphy (Fresno State) connects. Murphy came north to join Saskatoon, for his third summer on the Canadian prairies.
Eskimo quintet - Five players who figured prominently in Esks' 5-2 playoff win over Regina. Left to right, Don Buford, Jim Sims, Art Ersepke, Stan Charnofsky, Freddie Scott. Buford joined the Eskimos for the playoffs after starring for the Lloydminster-North Battleford Combines. (Edmonton Journal, September 9, 1959
Don Buford, cap flying, gets tagged out by Edmonton third baseman John Werhas. Buford, from the University of Southern California, went on to a long major league career. (Edmonton Journal, July 9, 1959)
Above - A pair of stars from the University of Southern California, Don Buford (left) and John McLane (centre). Both played in Western Canada with the Lloydminster-North Battleford Combines.
Above right - A year before joining the Meridians, pitcher Dick Dyer was a trophy winner at the Global World Series. Dyer, pitching for Houston Fed-Mart, won three games as the Texas team won the 1959 semi-pro championship. Dyer was the tournament's leading pitcher. (National Baseball Congress, 1960 Annual)
Left - Negro League v& pro ball veteran Bill Powell suits up with the Lloydminster-North Battleford Beaver-Meridians, usually known as the Combines. In 1963, after another stint in pro ball, Powell played with Melville in Saskatchewan.