July 11, 2011
Ed Gelinas inducted into the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame
by Norm Gelinas

My brother Ed Gelinas, Capreol born and raised, was recently recognized and honored for his athletic skills and inducted into The Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame, class of 2011 on June 08, 2011, at a banquet and evening events held at the Caruso Club in Sudbury. This was truly a proud and exciting night for our family. A night to remember and re-connect. With this in mind, we would like to share a bit of Ed's history, along with an excerpt of his bio that was prepared and submitted for his nomination, with all the readers of Capreolonline.


Ed was nicknamed "Fast Eddie" and went on to become a well respected and dominant fastball pitcher in the Sudbury, Ontario and British Columbia leagues during the 70's-80's. He became known as a fierce competitor who apparently hated to lose. His strength and endurance in league play and especially tournament action was
unparalleled. There are recordings of him pitching up to six consecutive games in a week-end tournament.

As part of the process of nominating Ed to the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame we had to present a submission outlining his achievements, championships, awards etc. We needed to put a story together. The support we received from teammates, opponents, coaches, league executives, the media and the family, from all across Canada, was
too overwhelming not to move ahead with the nomination. There were over 200 newspaper articles sent to us on Ed to work with. Stories of his illustrious career, which many of us were unaware of, was astounding to discover after reading them. There were countless hours of library research for cross referencing and access to his records and awards compliments of Ed's wife Fran.

Ed decided to retire in 1985 following 27 years on the mound. At a press conference held in Prince George he thanked his family and all his many fans and teamates all over the country for their support and he walked off the field.

He was recognized by the sports world during his fastball career by receiving over 250 awards, medals, plaques and trophies to honor his name for the 27 years he devoted to a game he totally loved. Sadly, Ed passed away in August 2010.

Ed was well represented at the banquet ceremony and awards night with over 40 immediate family members and friends in attendance. Ed's wife Fran and his three daughters made the trip from Trail, BC, and were honored to share this memorable night. Longtime Capreol teammates and friends of Ed and our family, in a show of support and respect, were also in attendance. They included Jim Capp, Phil DelPapa, Stuy Thomas, Eddie Capp, and Barry and Carol Burch. The support from friends and teammates from Sudbury was also very overwhelming.

A final tribute goes out to Norm Mayer and Chris Sherridan of The House of Kin and the Sudbury Kinsmen Club. They had quite a task, not only making the final nomination selection, but organizing the banquet which was attended by over 650 guests. This year there were more than 400 individual names brought forward for nomination into the hall of Fame. The nominating committee finally narrowed it down to 10 finalists for the class of 2011. Some of the inductees joining Ed into the Hall of Fame are NHL hockey players Ron Duguay and Dale McCourt, the 1964 Italia Soccer Club, and Bob Whidden. On this night all of the inductees were remembered and recognized as community athletes, both past and present, and received their just award.

Some of the Bio on Ed's career that was submitted to the nominating committee for
selection into The Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame.

Ed was one of eleven children born to Maurice and Kathleen Gelinas on September 15, 1944 in Capreol. Some say softball reached its peak in the 60's and Ed got caught up in the fever. The schoolyard taught him the basics of softball and his founding principles of the game were to be set in stone at a very young age. To hone his skills further it was practicing and more practicing at home pitching to his brothers. Spring training for him started in early January, down in the bowels of the Capreol YMCA, pitching hours upon hours to anyone who would catch for him; most
often that would be me. When league play started in May, he was ready. He had the passion, he had the drive and strength, and he had the skills.

He was recruited at 16 by Don Prescott to pitch for the Capreol and Garson Juvenile's. He was recruited in 1966 by Bill Oulette to pitch for the Capreol Mazzucca's of the Nickel District Fastball League, his rookie year. He pitched for various teams in this league for a total of 10 years winning numerous championships, tournaments, and personal achievement awards.

Ed and his family decided to relocate to Mackenzie, BC in 1976, and his passion and
skills for the game followed him. After rounding up a team in Mackenzie to play in a
much higher caliber fastball tournament in Prince George he pitched his team to a
tournament victory with four wins and no losses. The owners and managers of the
dominant Prince George Sr."A" team were quite impressed with him and asked if he
would be willing to sign a contract with them to pitch in a more competitive and
higher caliber league. He agreed if his catcher was also signed to a contract. The
rest is history. His true passion and love for the game of fastball was no more
evidenced in the fact that to pitch in this more competitive league he drove from
his home in Mackenzie to the city of Prince George, almost a 2 hour drive one way.
He made this trip up to three times a week and did it for 10 years.

Some of Ed's personal achievements and accomplishments:

. pitched a total of 27 no hit games
. pitched 8 perfect games
. won 12 career league championships
. won 5 all Provincial championships
. first pitcher ever in Ontario to be presented an award for pitching a perfect game
in an all Provincial championship game
. won the divisional league batting championship and most home runs one year
. pitched to 27 batters, the maximum, in a nine inning game. More than one recording
found
. pitched to 21 batters, the maximum, in a seven inning game. More than one
recording found
. pitched a record 2 game 29 consecutive innings in one day
. record high of 24 strikeouts in nine innings. 19 strikeouts in a seven inning
game. More than one recording found
. involved in a pitching duel, pitching 19 consecutive innings in one game and winning
. articles show him pitching 4, 5 and even 6 games in a week-end tournament. More
than one recording found

The nominating committee recognized Ed as one of Sudbury's great fastball pitchers
with his induction into The Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame. He certainly made an
impression on and off the field in an effort to promote the game. His numbers speak
for themselves and the letters of support from all across Canada speak of his
charachter as a true ambassador to the sport.

Efforts to have Ed nominated and inducted into The Prince George, (British Columbia)
Hall of Fame class of 2012 are currently underway.


Norm Gelinas