The boys are back in town.
Four years after disbanding, the Rainy River Legion fastball team made an official return to the Rainy River District Fastball League last week.
“We had about 14 guys in town who wanted to play and we just wanted to be closer to home,” said team captain and coach Guy Arpin, who previously had played for the Stratton Bobcats.
Arpin’s Stratton teammates—Jim Chorney, Don Gall, Matt Ashworth, Ken Gess, and Murray Armstrong—will join him on the new Rainy River team.
In addition to the loss of team captain Cliff Chojko-Bolec, who moved to Steinbach, Man., the rebirth of the Legion breaks up a pretty strong Bobcats team—one that went 12-6 before losing to the Emo Bulldogs in the RRDFL final last September.
But Arpin said there were no hard feelings between he and his former Stratton teammates.
“I told the guys last summer that my plans were to go to Rainy next year. Everyone knew something was coming,” he remarked.
Rainy River used to boast three teams during the height of the fastball league, including the Legion, the Huskies, and the Spartans. Four former Huskies—Walter Wagner, Wes Blight, Cam Hanson, and Danny Armstrong—are set to come out of “retirement” to suit up for the Legion.
“We don’t have a young team. We’re old and slow,” laughed Arpin. “It should be a fun year.”
The addition brings the RRDFL’s total to nine teams. Zig’s Place was the new entry last year, along with such long-standing teams as the Bulldogs, Sight and Sound, Barwick, Pinewood, Big Grassy, Big Island, and Stratton.
Schedules for the upcoming season, which begins May 14, should be ready by the end of the week.