Canada began a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation featuring the Expo ’67 World’s Fair.
Israel effectively fended off the armed forces coalition of Arab states and went on the offensive to claim victory in the Six-Day War of 1967.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl.
Pitcher and World Series’ MVP Bob Gibson led the St. Louis Cardinals to a four-games-to-three conquest of the Boston Red Sox in the 1967 Fall Classic.
Refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali was stripped of his title.
1967 turned out to be a high point for Canadian baseball, although it was a frightening and disheartening journey to get there. (See Dave Shury's story in Wheat Province Diamonds for the full story.)
Canada was hosting the 1967 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg and for the first time it was hoped to have a Canadian baseball team in the event. Just months before the games, there was no team. A lack of organization, money and commitment had forced Canadian Pan Am officials to drop baseball from the program. However a small group of enthusiasts (with Dave Shury a prominent force) got baseball reinstated and managed, with great difficulty, to put together a team to represent the country.
There was a major problem. Four of the players were deemed to be professionals under the Pan Am rules in spite of all having been reinstated as amateurs in their home provinces. All were key members of the team - pitcher Ron Stead of Guelph, catcher Bob McKillop and second baseman Ron Smith of Kitchener and pitcher John Elias of Montreal. (Another ex-pro, catcher Ed Tanner, is in the Pan-Am photo, but there is no record of whether he played in the games.) Canada went ahead anyway, hoping they might slip under the radar.
On July 24th, Canada made its debut against Mexico and while out-hitting the Mexicans 8 to 5, dropped a 3-1 decision on three costly errors. At Carman the following night, Ross Stone of Saskatoon and John Elias pitched Canada to a 2-1 win over Puerto Rico. The jubilation on the bus ride back to Winnipeg was tempered by the realization the win might force authorities to take a closer look at the Canadian roster. A Canadian sportswriter broke the story.
Facing expulsion from the event, instead Canada was ordered to drop the four players without the ability to replace them. In addition, the win over Puerto Rico was stricken from the record. A downcast and short-handed group then went on to lose 14-10 to the Americans, 5-2 to Puerto Rico, and 6-4 to Cuba.
Canada's final game was against the undefeated and highly favoured Cubans. Down 4-0 in the early innings, Canada rallied behind home runs by Larry Wilson of Hamiota, Manitoba and Maurice Oakes of Brandon and took a 7-4 lead in the 3rd inning. They hung on to score a huge upset, 10-9, victory. The Americans went on to win the championship.
In spite of finishing in fourth place during the regular West Division Manitoba Senior League schedule, the defending-champion Brandon Cloverleafs caught fire at the right time and went on to capture their second playoff title with a conquest of the Souris Cardinals in the division finals. They met their Waterloo, however, when the Transcona Atomics, winners of the East Division, conquered them in a tough, best-of-five final series. Meanwhile, the Binscarth Cardinals defeated the Pilot Mound Pilots to claim the 1967 Manitoba Baseball Association senior title while the Rivers Comets won the South-Central League crown and went on to represent Manitoba in the Western Canada senior championships.
The Cinderella Yorkton Cardinals, with fence-busting Ed Stefuriak at the helm, surprised the pennant-winning Regina Red Sox by annexing the South Saskatchewan League finals. In the Northern Saskatchewan League finals, the Unity Cardinals decisioned the Saskatoon Commodores.
The Govan, Saskatchewan, Angels won the Western Canada Senior Championship whipping Peace River, Alberta, 9-3 Sunday (September 3) in the final after coming into the title game off the losers' side of the double-knockout competition. Robbie McLane hurled the final game win for the Angels with relief help from Merv Danbrook in the sixth inning. Pete Czuy took the loss. The key blow for the winners was a home run by Lorne Davis.
Earlier on the last day, Govan demolished Peace River 14-0 and Rivers Comets, 8-1.
Govan dropped their opener on Saturday (September 2) 3-0 to Rivers, the Manitoba champions. Wayne Ramsay fired the shutout for Rivers, besting Davis. Peace River topped Rivers 3-2 in 10 innings in Saturday's second game. On Sunday, Danbrook whiffed 12 in pitching Govan over Rivers. Reg Danbrook belted a homer.
The Edmonton Seals, who finished a game-and-a-half behind the pennant-winning Calgary Odeons, went on to take the 1967 Alberta Major Baseball League title with a four-game sweep of another entry from the Stampede city, the Cascades, in the finals.
Vancouver senior baseballers from different leagues participated in an interlocking series of playoffs with the Regents of the Industrial League taking the 1967 crown by decisioning the Ramadas of the Lower Mainland circuit.
38-year old veteran southpaw Art Worth pitched the Transport Workers to the championship of the Victoria Senior Amateur League with a 4 to 1 win over Greave’s Movers.
Charlie Preen’s home run in the bottom-of-the-tenth inning gave the Penticton Molsons a 4 to 3 win over the Vernon Luckies and the 1967 Okanagan-Mainline Baseball League championship.