Two Meadow Lake men are ready to take their rightful place in the annals of Saskatchewan baseball history. Dr. Craig Weran and Glen Winkler will join others from across the province this summer as the latest inductees into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It’s exciting, and also gratifying to know someone thought highly enough of my contributions to baseball to nominate me in the first place, and more so to know the selection committee thought the same,” Weran told Northern Pride. “It’s very fulfilling to know there is a certain group in the baseball community who thought enough about my contributions to warrant that.”
Weran grew up in Battleford where he played minor baseball. He later played Junior baseball in North Battleford before playing Senior baseball for a couple of years with the Saskatoon Outlaws while attending university. “When I went to chiropractic college, I played three years of college baseball in Minneapolis,” Weran said. “Following that, there was a bit of a gap where I stepped away from the sport to start my practice in Saskatoon in the late 1990s. I then moved to England for a few years, so there was a stretch where I wasn’t involved in baseball very much at all. That changed, however, when I moved to Meadow Lake in 2006.” Weran began playing for the Meadow Lake Senior Sox in 2007, served as a minor baseball coach and, for the last decade or so, has been instrumental in the pitching clinic that takes place in Meadow Lake each spring.
“Most of my involvement has been in the last 20 years in Meadow Lake,” he said. “The pitching clinic has changed its form over the years. About 10 or 12 years ago, our senior team ran a baseball clinic for kids. That involved a Saturday in the spring where we would cover a little bit of fielding, hitting and pitching… It soon became pretty clear, when my friend’s kids began playing provincial baseball, pitching needed to be the focus. That’s when the format changed and it became a pitching clinic. It’s grown over the years, which has been pretty cool to see.” In addition to all of this, Weran also serves as a board member for the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. But, even though the museum and hall of fame are located in his home community of Battleford, Weran said he didn’t give it much attention until many years later. “I was vaguely familiar with it when I was growing up,” he explained. “It started in 1983, so I was 11 years old and not sure if those types of things were in the front of my mind. Later on, I was gone for a long time and spent very little time in North Battleford in my early adult years. Also, historically, the museum and hall of fame was only ever open weekdays and I was never in North Battleford unless it was a weekend. I didn’t go there ever until I was well into my 40s.”
When he finally did make his way to the museum, Weran hit it off with Jane Shury, who served as museum director for many years. “She served as the heart of the museum since the late 1980s or early 1990s, and asked if I would be involved as a board member,” Weran said. “I have been for the past seven or eight years now.” The 2026 hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled to take place Aug. 15. “Hall of fame induction day is always a fun day,” Weran added. “It’s a gathering of people from all over the province who have contributed to baseball in their own ways. Some were elite players who played at the highest levels, some have coached, managed, ran tournaments, conducted camps, you name it. You meet these people from all corners of the province, and it’s a rich collection of storytelling, meeting up with old friends and meeting new people. It’s a really neat evening and serves as a major fundraiser for the museum and hall of fame.”
As noted, also being inducted this summer is Meadow Lake’s Glen Winker. Northern Pride reached out to Winkler for comment, but he chose not to be interviewed. Efforts were also made to contact the museum and hall of fame for further background on Winkler’s contributions to the sport, but a spokesperson was unavailable as of this week’s sports deadline. Meanwhile, others who will be indicted in the individual category this summer include George Dimas of Regina, Trevor Drury of Outlook, Peter Duncan of North Battleford, David George of Battleford, Tony Kuffner of Battleford, Barry Martin of Wiseton, the late Archie Sanderson of Avonlea and Troy Winterhalt of Lloydminster. In the team category, the 1971 Lumsden Cubs, 1971 North Battleford Junior Beavers and 1960s Unity Cardinals will be inducted, while the family category will see the Flaman family of Vibank, SK inducted.
To order tickets to this year’s ceremony, contact the Saskatchewan Baseball Museum at 306-446-1983 or email saskbaseballmuseum@sasktel.net