The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame 35th Induction will be celebrated Saturday, August 17, in Battleford, Saskatchewan.
Among this year’s inductees is Gary Brotzel who was born and raised in Cupar, SK.
Brotzel participated in all intercollegiate sports. He moved to Regina right out of High School and took on a job and career with SaskTel.
Gary and his wife Denise have 2 children, Natasha and Tanner. Between 1993 and 2004 Gary was involved with both his children’s sports activities. Tanner was in baseball while Gary himself played competitive softball himself until 2004, having achieved being a player on numerous Provincial and Western Canadian Softball Championship teams.
Throughout his son’s minor baseball career Gary coached, teamed up with Bernie Eiswirth, who also had a son playing baseball team with Tanner, and who also coached. Following high school both sons went on to college and playing baseball with their respective college .team. In order to play competitive summer baseball, Both sons had to travel out of Regina to play in the Western Major Baseball League. Gary and Bernie saw an untapped market for local players attending college to come back and play summer baseball. Gary and Bernie assembled a Board of Directors, raised finances and put together a community owned team on the field in 2005. The Regina Red Sox, first established in 1942, was reborn.
Gary coached the Regina White Sox AAA Mosquito, Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget divisions between 1995 and 2003. His Pee Wee team won the 1998 Provincial Championship. Other team achievements include the 2010 and 2014 Western Major Baseball League [WMBL] Eastern Division Championships and the 2011 and 2012 WMBL League Championships. His Midget team was the Provincial runner up and attended the Western Canadian Championships in Kelowna, BC in 2003, and his team was the WMBL Runner Up in 2008. Gary was a guest coach for the Bantam Championships in Windsor, Ontario in 2000.
The Western Canadian Baseball League is a summer collegiate league consisting of twelve [12] teams located in Saskatchewan and Alberta. It’s roots stem back to 1931.The league evolved from several leagues including the Southern Baseball League, the Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League and the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League. In 2000, the SMBL changed their name to the Western Major Baseball League to accommodate the teams from Alberta. In 2019, the league officially changed the name to the Western Canadian Baseball League and promotes itself as Canada’s premier summer collegiate baseball league.
The Regina Red Sox is one of the Leagues flagship organizations, and has become a vibrant part of Regina’s sporting community, promoting local minor baseball and generating interest in the game of baseball for the citizens of Regina and area.
As Founder and President of the Regina Red Sox organization in 2005, Gary continues in the capacity of volunteer President with great enthusiasm, enriching the lives of many Regina youths.
