Team
1970 Kent Concrete Senior Baseball
SPORT | Baseball
LEVEL | Senior “A”
YEAR OF INDUCTION | 2016
1985 Team Reunion, Front Row: Bob Swift (manager), Dennis McCord, Roy Boyes, Bill Twigg, Dave Luff, Don Webster, “Chirp” Morris (coach), Arnie Robbins, Rob Bennett (bat boy) Back Row: Larry Myers, Dale Lahey, Keith Chandler, Ron Franko, Bob Pearson, Ed Myers, Dave Allin, Jack McCart, Jim Corriveau, Jim Robertson, Larry Franko, Absent: Gary Saunders, Brad Robinson, Bob Everitt (coach), Mike Bennett (bat boy)
1970 Kent Concretes Baseball Team Induction into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, 2016 Front Row: Bob Pearson, Larry Franko, Arnie Robbins, Keith Chandler, Bill Twigg, Mike Bennett (bat boy) Middle Row: Dale Lahey, Jim Corriveau, Ed Myers, Ron Franko, Gary Saunders Back Row: Brad Robinson, Bob Everitt (coach), Jim Robertson
1970 Kent Concretes Baseball Team Induction into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, 2016 Front Row: Bob Pearson, Larry Franko, Arnie Robbins, Keith Chandler, Bill Twigg, Mike Bennett (bat boy) Middle Row: Dale Lahey, Jim Corriveau, Ed Myers, Ron Franko, Gary Saunders Back Row: Brad Robinson, Bob Everitt (coach), Jim Robertson
The team was named after its sponsor Kent Concrete of Chatham which was a cement company owned by Orville Gold. Many of the players were graduates of Chatham Minor Baseball teams that won Ontario Baseball Association “A” (highest category at the time) championships at every level from pee wee to juvenile.
During the season the Concretes participated in the Essex County Senior Baseball League where, because of work and family commitments, they were plagued by player shortages on game days. As a result, they had to use juvenile and junior players from CMBA to bolster the line-up. They ended up being beat out in the league round-robin series. After debating whether to even enter the OBA playdowns, they did enter and competed against three “A” league championship winners.
In the first round of playoffs they defeated the Oakville Oaks 3-2 and 4-2 to win the best of three home and home series. In the semi-finals the Concretes met the strong Intercounty League Champion London Avcos. Chatham and London split the first two games before the Concretes won 5-2 in the third game to advance to the finals. In the best of three finals against Orillia Terriers, the Concretes won the first game 4-0 in Chatham. In the second game, behind the pitching of 18-year-old Dennis McCord and Larry Myers and the hitting of Bob Pearson, Ed Myers, and Larry Myers, the Concretes won 11-8 in Orillia to become OBA Sr. “A” (highest level of competition) Champions. They were the first Chatham Senior Team to win an OBA “A” title.