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A founding father of the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League is being honoured this weekend.
Jim (Rico) McEachern, who has been involved with the Sydney Sooners as a player, coach and executive since the NSSBL’s inception in 1977, will have his jersey and number retired by the league in a ceremony Saturday as the Sooners host the Kentville Wildcats for a twilight doubleheader.
That means beginning next season, his No. 3 will never be worn by another player in the league.
“I’m very appreciative and thankful,” McEachern, 77, said in an interview. “I just sort of offer a general thanks out there for the people that made it happen, not just this event, but basically made all experiences over roughly the past 50 to 60 years happen.”
McEachern, a key organizer of both the league and the Sydney team 50 years ago, began coaching the Sooners in 1982 when he was still playing. He retired from coaching in 2001 but returned to the bench in 2009 and managed the club to league titles in 2013, 2014 and 2017.
“I’ve enjoyed every year, every week, everything about the experience,” said McEachern, who suffered a stroke last November but continues to manage the team from the dugout.
An ‘easy’ decision
With the NSSBL marking its 50th anniversary and celebrating some of its original members, league president Brad Jacobs said the suggestion by a Sooners representative to retire McEachern’s jersey number was also a fitting way to honour the team’s legacy.
Though individual teams have retired numbers, it’s the first time a number has been retired league-wide. But Jacobs said in a news release this week that “the decision was an easy one.”
Jacobs, a Sydney River resident and former Sooners player, said McEachern and the Sooners have given Cape Breton youth the opportunity to play at the highest level of amateur baseball. He pointed out McEachern has also volunteered with the Sydney-area Little League program and held baseball camps to help youth better understand the game.
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Jacobs was one of those young ballplayers influenced by McEachern over the years.
“He was just a big supporter personally of me and many, many, many hundreds of other players who’ve gone through the program,” Jacobs told CBC News. “So I think he’s got a big impact on lots of lives locally and across the province.”
McEachern hopes to cap off the season with Sydney winning its seventh league championship since 1977. The Sooners have won five of their first seven games and are tied for second place.
He said he still savours his time on the diamond.
“I love the sport myself and I love seeing the kids play it and I love seeing the kids gravitate to where they’re playing senior ball, the highest skill level that we have in the province here.”
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