Joey Payeur
David Brockie’s throwing arm could not have made of conventional material because normal arms weren’t made to withstand the challenges he put it through.
The Portage la Prairie, Man. native became a baseball legend in Fort Frances after moving here in the late 1930s for his ability to throw innumerable pitches over a short span and still remain dominant.
But it’s as much his community spirit, as it was his terrific mound work, that has earned Brockie induction into the Fort Frances Sports Hall of Fame next month.
“He was a man of great dignity and people eventually respected him once they got to know him,” said his proud son, Ted, who went on to take over his father’s jewellery store business and still runs Brockie’s Jewellers today.
David was a watch-maker in Portage la Prairie before coming to a crossroads when it came to playing his favourite sport.
He had an opportunity to attend a professional baseball school in Hot Springs, Ark., but faced the prospect of having to pay his own travel costs to get there–$100 (a sizeable figure in those days).
Fort Frances’ baseball team countered that offer by inviting him to join their squad, throwing in the promise of a guaranteed job at Gledhill’s Jewellery when he arrived, which sealed the deal.
When he took to the mound here, it didn’t take long for the local squad to realize it had made an exceptionally-wise investment in the man who came to be known as “Diamond Dave.”
“He once pitched two games back-to-back, 19 innings in all,” marvelled Ted.
“There were no relievers in those days,” he noted.
“I don’t know how his arm held up by the last games of a tournament.”
The elder Brockie also was patriotic to his core, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 and serving until the end of World War II in 1945.
He then bought the local jewellery store from George Gledhill in 1947,
David not only sponsored but also coached the Fort men’s baseball team from 1948-55, and also sponsored many juvenile hockey teams over the years.
He also was one of the first members of the Fort Frances recreation commission, as well as serving on the rink commission of that board and helping re-organize senior hockey here.
Above all else, though, David’s commitment to the development of baseball, and the current and future generations of the game assured his place as a vital historical figure in the local athletic world.
“He loved the game and he loved young people,” Ted Brockie said. “He wanted to bring the game to them and he was really generous in that respect.
“There were kids without a sense of direction that he wanted to bring into the athletic world,” he added.
“He knew the kids didn’t have a lot of money to buy uniforms, so he did it for them.”
Editor’s note: The second induction ceremony for the Fort Frances Sports Hall of Fame will be held Saturday, Aug. 12 at La Place Rendez-Vous.
Tickets cost $35 each, which are available at Taggs, as well as by contacting Terry Ogden at 274-5195 or via e-mail at missdaisymae@shaw.ca
