Randy Rasmussen of the Red Deer Generals was a major factor, in fact the tournament MVP, as the Generals whipped Edmonton Tigers 13-1 to capture their third tournament in three tries.
That's Rasmussen dancing away from an attempted tag (left) and sliding home safely (above). He had three hits in the final and batted .500 in the tournament. Edmonton Journal, July 12, 1976
The Red Deer Generals found the Edmonton Tigers a little tougher to handle than anticipated. Here Edmonton pitcher Ray Brown awaits the ball to nip the Generals' Al McKee at first base.
Very little gets by Edmonton Tigers' left fielder Randy Gregg.
Left - Coach Ches Spornitz (left) and hero Daryl Charlton of the Czar, Alberta, team proudly display the Bob Collyer Trophy following Charlton's dramatic game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.The victory earned the club a berth in the Western Canada Intermediate "A" Championships at Glenboro in September.
Below - Members of the Czar team mob pitcher Daryl Charlton as he scores the winning run. Charlton crushed a Pat Angers offering over the left field fence to give Czar a 10-9 win over Teulon Cardinals.
In 1976, 20-year-old Joe Cardle of Victoria (via Mount Royal College in Calgary) was one of 22 players to take part in the Montreal-Lethbridge Expos training camp at Henderson Stadium in Lethbridge (the city had a minor league team in the Pioneer League from 1975 to 1983).
Only two were asked to stay for an afternoon session and one of them was an American. The Canadian was infielder Cardle. The pair played in a 16-inning game after the camp but neither was signed by the club.
Cardle went on to play junior ball with the Lethbridge Miners that summer in Lethbridge and senior ball in Victoria. He had suited up with Barrhead in the Alberta Major League the previous season.
Cardle had played in Barrhead in 1973 in a Midget National Championship laying the groundwork for his summer in semi-pro ball in the Alberta city. His Vancouver Island team lost out to the Melville Elks and Terry Puhl, who went on to succeed in the major leagues (Puhl, pitching in relief, was the winning pitcher in the championship game). (We even tracked down a photo of his 1974 Babe Ruth team).
While his baseball dreams faded, a career in education was beginning, leading to a lengthy and successful tenure as a teacher and school principal.