North Dufferin Baseball League - EST. 1930

Roy Tipling (left) receives his President's Award from Tom Anderson of Lisle, representing the league. (Tom Anderson photo)

Roy 'Tippy' Tipling was the first recipient of the President's Award in 1984.

Mr. Tipling played in the first season of the league in 1930 with Honeywood and continued to play and coach, ending with Shelburne in the early 1970s. He served on the league executive in the positions of president, vice president and secretary/treasurer over three decades.

Mr. Tipling embodied the spirit of the league in the early years with much of his information and fond memories essential for the league history book.

His outstanding service to the league and baseball in general over his decades of involvement was extraordinary. Indeed, Mr. Tipling was an exceptional choice to receive the first President's Award.

Mr. Tipling died on May 31, 1989.

League president Don McMaster (left) presents Bob Doner Sr. the President's Award. (Creemore Star photo)

Bob Doner Sr. of Alliston was presented the President's Award in 1985.

Mr. Doner contributed to baseball in the community as a coach for Alliston and serving on executive positions in both the South Simcoe and North Dufferin Baseball Leagues.

His greatest involvement in the local sports scene was with the South Simcoe Baseball League serving as an executive member for years. He first served on the N.D.B.L. executive as vice president in 1968. When the South Simcoe Baseball League folded in 1984, Alliston rejoined North Dufferin and Mr. Doner was elected as secretary in 1984. He would serve three years in the position until his death.

Known as "Mr. Baseball" in the Alliston and area community he was a strong supporter of the sport and would often be on top of the home dugout with his card table scoring and announcing during home games.

Mr. Doner died on January 27, 1987.

Mr. Doner wrote a letter to the Editor of the Creemore Star after he was awarded this honour, which reads as follows:

Dear John, (or should I say Dear Editor)
At the recent awards night of the N.D.B.L. I was, as you know, presented with a handsome plaque indicating what I had done for baseball in this area over the past years.
At the time, I was flabbergasted, and at a complete loss for words. I had no idea what the executive was up to (although I am a part of it), so I mumbled a few incoherent words of thanks and retired to my seat.
What I should have done was thank them and the league most sincerely for the honour bestowed on me. There were others in mind who probably should have had it over me - the men you mentioned: Your Dad, Reg: Davis Arnold and Claude Patton but to that list I would have added a few that come to mind: Bud Anderson, Bill Patton, Paul Carruthers and Carl Gowan.
However, the honour was awarded to me and I am most grateful to everyone responsible for me being the chosen one.
Thank you for your kind words in your write-up on the sports page.
Long live the N.D.B.L. and those that run it.

Sincerely,

Bob Doner [signed]

Bud Anderson (left) accepts the President's Award from president Bill Patton. (Bud Anderson photo)

The third person to be honoured by receiving a President's Award was Bud Anderson of Lisle in 1987.

Mr. Anderson played and coached with the Lisle baseball team for three decades winning five league championships. He served seven years on the executive as vice president, president, or past president, in addition to acting as umpire-in-chief for a year. He first joined the executive as president in 1968 and was the first person to be elected vice president when the three-year position (vice president, president, past president) term began in 1975.

He was also one of the organisers behind the first Awards Night and Dance in 1974 and was instrumental in creating the history book of the league complied by his son, Tom Anderson.

At the time of the award, Mr. Anderson was the coach and manager of the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers and played a major role in the creation of the Oldtimers program between the North Dufferin and South Simcoe Leagues. He was inducted into the Vintage Baseball Federation of Ontario Hall of Fame in 1995 for his support to Oldtimers baseball in the Province.

Mr. Anderson died on May 16, 2012.

Mr. Bob Patton was the fourth recipeint of the President's Award. (NDBL archive photo) Statistician Gord Dunn (left) presents the President's Award to Sandra Patton who accepted the honour on behalf of her husband Bob, who was unable to attend due to illness. (Creemore Star photo)

Bob Patton was the fourth recipient of the President's Award.

Mr. Patton's greatest role was on the field as a coach and umpire. An active member in the New Lowell baseball community he coached both senior and minor baseball teams in his hometown. He later coached with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers oldtimers team. He also assisted with All-Ontario championship tournaments that were held in the area from the 1970s onwards.

Mr. Patton's commitment to baseball was most evident with his job as an umpire for teams in the North Dufferin, South Simcoe senior, and South Simcoe minor leagues. To many he was considered one of the best umpires and was respected for the games he officiated. He was also a mentor to many younger umpires.

Youth sports was of great interest to Mr. Patton and in addition to baseball he was active with Creemore minor hockey coaching teams and serving as president. The award therefore recognized not only his commitment to baseball, but also his dedication to the youth and the community.

Mr. Patton died on March 15, 2006

Tom Anderson (left) receives the President's Award from president Myles Morrish. (David Anderson photo)

Tom Anderson of Lisle was honoured in 2008 with the President's Award.

Mr. Anderson played and/or coached the Lisle baseball team from 1970 until 1998, moving on to play with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers afterwards, won two league championships, and served a three year term on the executive as vice president, president, and past president from 1979-1981.

Mr. Anderson also completed research and wrote the history of the North Dufferin Baseball League's first fifty years which was published in 1980. The book called "Memories: A History of the North Dufferin Baseball League" was a major undertaking and was well received by past and present players, fans and the community at the time.

He created the original design of the current league logo and was responsible for other 'design' elements for the N.D.B.L over the years. He also created the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers logo when the oldtimers baseball team was established in 1982.

He was recognized by the Government of Canada in 1992 receiving the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal for service to the local community with involvement in senior and minor baseball.

Mr. Anderson died on December 8, 2018.

Paul Carruthers (left) accepts the President's Award from president Allan Brownridge. (David Anderson photo)

In 2009, Paul Carruthers was the sixth person to be presented the President's Award.

Mr. Carruthers was actively involved in baseball in Stayner both as a player and coach. His greatest success as coach was with the Stayner team of the 1980s, winning four Ontario titles at Junior 'D', Senior 'D', Senior 'C' and Senior 'B' levels from 1980-1986 in addition to four senior league championships between 1982 and 1986.

He served four terms as president for a total of 12 years (includes vice president and past president positions) and acted as York-Simcoe representative for the league, holding the position for 17 years.

Mr. Carruthers was also active with Oldtimers baseball with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers as a player and coach, vice president of the Vintage Baseball Federation of Ontario for eight years and nationally as president of the Canadian National Oldtimers Baseball Federation for three years.

Mr. Carruthers died on May 17, 2010. He was posthumously inducted into the Vintage Baseball Federation of Ontario Hall of Fame in 2010.

Dan Gowan (right) receives a President's Award from president Mike Wallace during the awards event on March 10, 2013. (David Anderson photo)

Dan Gowan became the seventh inductee to the President's Award group in 2012.

Mr. Gowan played the majority of his baseball career in Creemore starting off on the team as a batboy. With junior baseball starting in 1983 he also joined the New Lowell junior team winning two championships. In addition he won 13 senior league championships, numerous provincial titles and a National Oldtimers championship in 2005, 2009 and 2010.

Mr. Gowan received the award for his steadfast service and dedication to the league as a member of the executive. His service as league treasurer began in 1985 when he was first elected to the position and at the time of the award, Mr. Gowan had served 28 consecutive years as league treasurer.

He was previously recognized with a 25-year service plaque in 2009 from the league.

Gord Dunn (left) receives a President's Award from president Sean Hayward during the awards event March 8, 2015. (David Anderson photo)

In 2014 Gord Dunn was selected as the eighth person to be presented a President's Award.

Mr. Dunn began his playing career with the Lisle ball club in 1976, later moving into coaching positions and creating a junior entry from Lisle in 1998.  He also played with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers and won a National Oldtimers championship in 2012.

His notable service and love of the game included umpiring in the league. At the time of the award he had umpired for 37 seasons.

Mr. Dunn also served as league statistician for nine years, including a stretch from 1980 to 1988 and in 2012. He served two terms on the executive as vice president, president, and past president from 1984-1986 and 1989-1991.

A member and president of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lisle, Mr. Dunn encouraged the support of and financial assistance to local minor and senior baseball in addition to other sports.

After receiving the award, Mr. Dunn posted on the website the following letter:

To the Executive of the NDBL, Players past and present and fans of the NDBL:
I would like to take this time to thank you all for awarding me the prestigious "Presidents Award". First, I must apologize to all those who were in attendance for my inability to express myself in the way I would have liked to. I was completely unaware of this honour being bestowed upon myself, and as a result had a very difficult time controlling my emotions.
To say that I am very happy would be a huge understatement. I began playing in the league, the July 1st Tournament in Mansfield in 1976 and for the next 40 years, there has been nothing outside of my family, more important in my life than this league. I have made more friends through the NDBL than you can count, and am very appreciative of the fact that the NDBL made it possible to meet all these people.
I have played, coached, served as NDBL President twice, NDBL Statistician and umpire for the last 40 years and so proud to be part of the NDBL family. I have been fortunate enough to win 2 All-Ontario Championships, numerous Silver Medals but, would have traded them all in, to have won one NDBL Championship. As I am about to begin my 38th year as an umpire in the NDBL, I would like to thank the league family, past and present, for there respect and patience. Sure there have been disagreements, but it wouldn’t be Baseball without questions about the umpire's decision making process.
I would also like to thank all the members of the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers who were in attendance yesterday as a show of support. The Rocker’s re-enforce your understanding of why you love this game so much.
I have seen a lot of changes in the league throughout my career, but what never ceases to amaze me is the dedication of the executives in keeping the core values of the league, first and foremost. This dedication is why we are still running after 86 years, in as where other leagues have folded. There was a time when the league was looked at as a bunch of farmer's trying to play baseball. But time has proved that we can play with anyone, at any level. Bolton's performance, as well as Flesherton's before them, at the AAA level, has demonstrated that fact. If you go back in the OBA archives and see how many championships and finalists the league has, you will be astounded.
As I said yesterday, to be grouped in with Roy Tupling [sic], Bob Doner, Bob Patton, Bud Anderson, Tom Anderson, Paul (Siv) Carruthers and Dan Gowan is a special honour as those gentlemen are truly the architects of the NDBL. I looked around the room yesterday, and I couldn't help but feel confident of future success for the NDBL and look forward to watching it from either on or off the diamond.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and long live the NDBL.
Gordie

President Jesse McIntyre (left) presents Bill Patton a President's Award during the awards event on March 10, 2019. (David Anderson photo)

Bill Patton was honoured with a President's Award in 2018.

Mr. Patton started his NDBL career in Lisle, winning a league championship with the Lisle Red Sox in 1966. He also played with the Ivy Leafs in the South Simcoe league and was a big component of the 1972 championship win for the Leafs. He would return to play for his home-town New Lowell Knights when the team was formed and then coached the junior Knights. He finished his career playing with the Dufferin-Simcoe Rockers oldtimers team.

Mr. Patton's involvement with the junior division of this league is paramount. He spearheaded the introduction and development of a junior loop within the league in 1983. The division flourished over the 1980s, which in turn provided many of the players for the senior teams in later years.

Taking on coaching duties with the New Lowell juniors the team won the league championship in the inaugural 1983 season over Collingwood and added a provincial championship at the junior 'D' classification in the same year. The next year New Lowell repeated as league champions.

During the 1980s he also coached a junior all-star team from the area for the Ontario Regional All-Star Baseball Tournament.

Mr. Patton first joined the league executive in 1969 serving as the secretary-treasurer for two years. He became the first statistician of the league and served two years 1972-1973. From 1976-1978 he was treasurer and he served two terms as league president (includes vice and past) from 1981-1983 and 1986-1988.

Al Elliott (centre) receives a President’s Award from secretary Scott Anderson and president Jesse McIntyre during a presentation June 18, 2022. (David Anderson photo)

Al Elliott was the tenth person awarded the President's Award. The 2021 award was presented to him in 2022.

Mr. Elliott started playing in the North Dufferin league in 1974 with the Ivy Rangers. He played with both the Rangers and the Ivy Leafs (in the South Simcoe Baseball League) and continued with the Leafs when they joined the NDBL in later years. He won eight league championships and four provincial titles over his career.

Mr. Elliott was most commonly perched behind the plate as a catcher, and known to be a fierce and respected competitor. He was also a perennial player at the league's All-Star Games. In later years he would help manage and coach the team and support the next generation of ball players. Mr. Elliott's passion and dedication to the sport was also behind the scenes as manager and treasurer of the team and his countless hours of work at the Ivy ball park.

As a team representative, he guided decisions of the league in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and he and his wife Cathy supported the year-end banquets for years. Mr. Elliott first joined the league executive as vice president in 2004 and served as president in 2005 and past president in 2006.