Published Aug 03, 2025Last updated 6 hours ago8 minute readBilly Young, left, and Sandy VanBlarcom played key roles in the Kentville Wildcats winning the 1985 Canadian senior baseball championship in Kentville. Photo by Jason Malloy /ContributedArticle contentBilly Young had played hundreds of games at Kentville Memorial Park, but he could tell this one was going to be different.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentIt was Aug. 22, 1985, and Young was a hometown boy manning shortstop for the Kentville Wildcats in their first game of the senior men’s baseball nationals.Article contentArticle content“I came down to the park here and the vibe was different,” Young recalled. “By the time we took infield, the park was … filled.”Article contentArticle contentWhat transpired over the next four days are things legends are made of and why the 1985 Wildcats are revered 40 years later. With memorable comeback victories, remarkable plays and gutsy calls, the Wildcats became the first Nova Scotian team to win the preeminent national amateur baseball title.Article content“I can’t believe 40 years has gone by,” Young said during a recent visit to Memorial Park with teammate, longtime friend and neighbour Sandy VanBlarcom. “I am pretty proud of what we were able to accomplish.”Article contentVanBlarcom said there was a special camaraderie on that team and he was proud to win the title with his two brothers, Kirk and Barney.Article content Brothers Monty, left, and Ian Mosher were part of the 1985 Kentville Wildcats squad that won the Canadian senior baseball championship at Kentville Memorial Park on Aug. 25, 1985. ContributedArticle contentThe team will be honoured before the Wildcats’ Aug. 8 game with the Halifax Mets. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.Article contentJohn Ansara, the Wildcats’ current player/coach, said the 1985 team is an inspiration to today’s baseball players.Article contentArticle content“It’s like a golden era of senior baseball and Wildcats baseball,” he said. “A lot of the guys who grew up here and play here, they all know the lore of the ’85 team.”Article contentArticle contentThe stories are still fondly remembered by people around the park.Article content“What those guys did was no small feat for a small town like Kentville,” Ansara said. “It is one of the things that you look back at with admiration.”Article contentHe also noted VanBlarcom and Young remain committed to the sport and are on the team’s executive.Article contentNearly 40 years have passed since the memorable Sunday night victory on Aug. 25, but the memories remain vivid to those involved as a player or fan.Article content“This stuff comes back, just like we played yesterday,” Young said.Article contentArticle contentRoad to nationalsArticle contentThe Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League started in 1977 with Young and VanBlarcom being instrumental in Kentville being part of the seven-team circuit.Article contentThe Wildcats did OK in Year 1 before taking their lumps in their sophomore season. They added Bob Oakley and Hugh Fraser, both stud pitchers, for 1979 and won back-to-back titles in 1980 and 1981 before losing in the finals in 1982 and 1983.Article contentThey won a silver medal at nationals in Teulon, Man., in 1981, losing to New Brunswick. It was a tough loss in the double-knockout tournament, going to the final with double life.Article content Photos of some of the members of the 1985 Kentville Wildcats that won the senior baseball championship on their home field. ContributedArticle contentThe league didn’t have a season in 1984 and during the next offseason, a group in Kentville, including recreation director Bill Boyd, decided to bid on hosting the five-team nationals. Kentville was awarded the tournament in the spring.Article contentThe Wildcats won an elimination tournament in Cape Breton, giving them the first choice of pick-up players. It loaded up on Cape Bretoners who fit like a glove with their Annapolis Valley peers to complete the 18-player roster.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentPlay ballArticle contentKentville opened the five-team tournament with a 10-7 win in 10 innings over Ontario’s Tecumseh Green Giants in the night cap of Day 1.Article contentKevin MacLeod struck out 12 for the victory, but it wasn’t easy.Article contentKentville built a 7-2 lead, but Ontario came back to tie it.Article contentThe next morning, the Wildcats punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 6-4 victory over Manitoba.Article contentThe quick start was key, Young said, particularly for the younger members of the team.Article content“It was good to win the first game and get our feet wet,” he said.Article contentIn its second contest of Day 2, Kentville lost its first game against the Marysville Royals from New Brunswick 4-3 in a 14-inning marathon under unique circumstances.Article content The 1985 Kentville Wildcats were inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. ContributedArticle contentDue to rain, the game didn’t begin until near midnight and didn’t end until around 3 a.m. It ended on a controversial play when a throw by VanBlarcom, catching at the time, hit the runner going to first, who was off the baseline, to score the go-ahead run. Kentville stranded the tying run in the bottom of the inning.Article contentArticle contentKentville wrapped up the round-robin with a meaningless 11-1 loss to Quebec where the home side was setting up its pitching staff for the playoffs.Article contentThe quick start and playoff berth helped capture even more of the community’s attention as the crowds continued to grow during the four-day tournament.Article content“‘Wow, this has turned into something,’” Young remembered thinking as he watched the crowds go 10 deep down the lines.Article content“There were people there that I know hadn’t been to the park in 20 years or maybe had never been to the park,” he said. “It was a lot fun to be part of.”Article contentArticle contentSunday to rememberArticle contentThe Wildcats defeated Manitoba 4-2 on Sunday morning to advance to that evening’s championship game.Article contentKevin MacLeod, after throwing a ton of pitches in the opening game, tossed a complete game three-hitter.Article content“He threw seeds,” Young said. “He was unbelievable.”Article contentThe game also included the home side turning a rare 5-9-2-4 double play.Article contentThe Wildcat third baseman fielded a ground ball and went to second for the force, but the ball ended up in right field. Mosher threw it to VanBlarcom to cut down a would-be run. VanBlarcom survived the collision and tossed the ball to second to get the hitter, who started the play, attempting to get to second.Article contentOntario beat undefeated New Brunswick in the other semifinal to reach the finale.Article contentArticle contentChampionship gameArticle contentWhile official attendance numbers weren’t available, some suggest there was somewhere between 4,500 and 5,500 people at Memorial Park for the championship game.Article content“You couldn’t jam another person in that park,” Young said.Article content“When the championship game rolled around, the crowds were pumped,” VanBlarcom added.Article contentBut the home side couldn’t capitalize on it.Article content The Kentville Wildcats won the Canadian senior men’s baseball championship at Kentville Memorial Park on Aug. 25, 1985. Team members, front row, from left, are bat boys Chris Randall and Vince McNamara, Billy Young, Robbie Mann, Sandy VanBlarcom, Ian Mosher, George MacLean, Kirk VanBlarcom, Kevin Poirier and Barney VanBlarcom. Second row, coach Eddie Gillis, Shawn Mounce, coach John MacDonald, Jeff Rafuse, Dave Harris, Hugh Fraser, Danny Payne, Bob Oakley, Kevin Forbes, Kevin MacLeod, Monty Mosher, Mark Zwicker, Chet Boudreau, coach Jim MacEachern and player/coach Peter Goucher. Missing was coach Bruce Ross. ContributedArticle contentOntario hit three home runs off Chet Boudreau en route to taking what looked to be a commanding a 6-0 lead with lefty Ron Joinville stymying the Kentville attack through seven innings.Article contentArticle content“We couldn’t get anything going,” VanBlarcom said.Article contentSome fans, thinking the outcome was inevitable, packed up and headed home. But the Wildcats refused to fold.Article contentCue the comeback.Article contentIan Mosher broke the shutout in the legendary eighth inning, cashing George MacLean and Danny Payne with a two-out double as Kentville started to chip away at the deficit.Article contentOntario lifted a tired Joinville for reliever Leo Paul Bracken.Article content“It was a different ball game after that,” coach Eddie Gillis told the Advertiser’s Peter Simpson after the game. “Once it starts, it’s hard to stop and tonight they couldn’t stop it.”Article contentKevin Forbes hit a run-scoring double before VanBlarcom grinded out a walk to bring Young to the dish. He remembers missing two hanging curveballs to fall behind 0-2.Article content“He hung another one right out over the plate and I just banged it into right-centre,” Young recalled.Article contentArticle contentThe two-run single left runners at the corners.Article contentOntario decided to change pitchers again, going to Dan Cascaden with the feared Robbie Mann coming up and the tying run 90 feet away.Article contentAs the new pitcher warmed up, playing-coach Peter Goucher dug into his bag of tricks.Article content Then Kentville Mayor David Corkum presented the 1985 Kentville Wildcats with the key to the town in 2010. The plaque is on display at the Kentville Heritage Centre. ContributedArticle content“He says to me, ‘I want you to steal, but don’t get thrown out,’” Young said. “‘If the ball is coming through, you stop. … Give Sandy a chance to get home.’”Article contentVanBlarcom was nervous, unsure the catcher would throw through to second. He also had to make sure not to get too aggressive and get picked off third.Article content“If it goes over the pitcher’s head, I am going,” VanBlarcom told himself.Article contentOn the pitch, Young took off. The catcher threw to second and Young stopped three-quarters the way to the base.Article content“Sandy bolted,” Young recalled, noting the middle infielder cut the throw off and threw back to the dish to try to prevent the tying run from scoring. “He had no chance.”Article contentVanBlarcom scored and Young was smiling at second.Article contentIt looked like Kentville was set to take the lead, but Mann hit a hard shot to the left side of the infield to end the rally.Article contentThe double steal was successful, but did the components involved ever wonder what would have happened had it not worked?Article content“I don’t play that what-if game, never have,” said Young, noting he was confident in his longtime friend’s abilities. “He was one of the best baserunners ever in the league.”Article contentOntario threatened with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, but Oakley, pitching with a pulled rib muscle, found a way to keep the game tied. He got a fly ball to Mosher in right field to end the inning.Article contentArticle content“Still to this day … how he gutted that out, I don’t know,” Young said. “Every time he threw (a pitch), he was hurting.”Article contentMomentum had swung back to the home side.Article contentDanny Payne was on first base after a one-out walk when Goucher blasted the ball off the fence in left-centre field, leaving the winning run 90 feet from home plate. Mosher hit a fly ball to left field that looked like it could result in a sacrifice fly. But the fielder wasn’t able to complete the catch and the ball dropped to the ground with Payne running home and diving into home plate with the championship-winning run.Article content“If there was no guy on third, he would have caught it,” VanBlarcom said. “I think when he was coming in to catch it, he kind of peeked to see if the guy was tagging up or not.”Article content“It was kind of an awkward play,” Young acknowledged, “but we didn’t care.”Article contentThe party was on. The hometown team was national champs.Article contentArticle contentA brotherhood was formed during those four days, evoking coach Fred Shero’s blackboard message to his Philadelphia Flyers during the 1974 Stanley Cup Final: “Win today, and we walk together forever.”Article content“When I see the guys, it doesn’t matter where it is, you have that automatic connection, you don’t even need to say anything,” Young explained. “That is pretty special to me.”Article contentArticle contentLooking backArticle contentKentville Wildcats scores from the 1985 senior men’s baseball championship Aug. 22-25 in Kentville. It was a five-team tournament with a round robin before the playoffs began.Article contentRound robinArticle contentKentville 10 Ontario 7.Article contentKentville 6 Manitoba 4.Article contentNew Brunswick 4 Kentville 3.Article contentQuebec 11 Kentville 1.Article contentCrossoverArticle contentKentville 4 Manitoba 2.Article contentFinalArticle contentKentville 7 Ontario 6.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentDid you know?Article contentThe 1985 Kentville Wildcats baseball team shared the national tournament MVP award.Ian Mosher was named MVP of the championship game.Kevin MacLeod, Sandy VanBlarcom and George MacLean were named tournament all-stars.The team was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.Article content
DIAMOND LEGENDS: 1985 national champion Kentville Wildcats to be recognized Aug. 8
