During four decades from the 1940s to the 1970s, the Cote family of nine brothers were synonymous with baseball in Vasser, a small community in south eastern Manitoba and there was a period when they all played for Vasser at the same time.

Lucien, the oldest, possessed a ferocious passion for the game, pitched and played infield. James was an excellent right fielder with a strong arm and was a good hitter. He, along with Lucien, was often recruited by Minnesota teams for tournaments.

Alme played second or shortstop and provided inspiration with his constant chatter. Denis pitched left-handed and had very good arm control. Ovide, a left-handed hitting catcher, with a solid physique, had a strong arm. Robert, an outfielder had an excellent batting eye, which allowed him to draw many walks and had the skill and ability to steal bases.

Emilien, a switch-hitting, pitcher, was a gifted player and a powerful home run hitter. Emile, a speedy centre fielder, was small in stature, but had a great range and was a good base runner. Louise, the youngest, was a right-handed hitter and utility player, who along with Emilien, were the victims of a vehicle accident at the age of 22.

Al, Doug, and Ken, three brothers, were part of a well-known baseball family from the Elmwood/East Kildonan Area and were highly regarded players in Junior and Senior Leagues in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Al Ingram

Al played junior baseball with the Morse Place Monarchs and senior baseball with Transcona, CUAC and the Elmwood Giants. He was a League All Star numerous times in his career. Al was also playing manager for the Giants in the late 1950’s, who were league finalist for three years.

Doug Ingram

Doug, a second baseman played junior baseball for Morse Place and the Selkirk Fisherman and senior baseball for the Elmwood Giants, St. Boniface, and the Carman Cubs. He played on seven consecutive Senior finalists teams from 1957-63, winning three championships. He was a great defensive player, who twice had six hits in one game.

Ken Ingram

Ken, a catcher, played junior baseball for the Giants at age 16. He was an All-Star catcher and led the Giants to three championships. Ken started his senior career with the St. Boniface Native Sons in 1962, who won the championship. He then joined the Transcona Atomics and was the starting catcher for four championships. He was a good hitter and an excellent defensive player and handler of pitchers.

The Elkhorn Blue Sox were formed in 1959 and played in the Pipesonte Albert League which they won in 1962-63-64.

The League consisted of Reston, Grand Clairiere, Sinclair and Cromer.

The Elkhorn Blue Sox had their best season in 1963 when they won nine consecutive tournaments with twenty-seven straight wins. They won thirty-nine and lost one during 1963.

Several players, Doug Lund, Jack Day and Bill Chapple advanced to play in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League from Elkhorn.

The Fisher Branch Falcons were a very good small community team which excelled in tournament baseball.

Their best season was in 1957 when they won $1600 in prize money by winning 13 of 14 tournaments at Lundar, Eriksdale, Arborg, Ashern, Teulon, Chatfield, Fisher Branch, Beausejour, Hodgson, Oak Point, Moosehorn, Poplarfield, and Keewatin.

The team was managed by Metro Melnyk who kept the team together with strict expectations and led by pitchers like John Obelnicki and Deb Mealey.

The St. Boniface Native Sons accompllished what no other Manitoba Secior baseball team has done, winning the Redboine League championship and the Frank Richardson Trophy, emblematic of Provincial supremacy, for five consecutive years. The Native Sons also captured a Western Canadian Championship in 1993.

The Sons success came about as a result of five year players , Jeff Bouchard, John Kraupner, Rob Lebleu, Dave Lemoine, current Hall of Famer Don Maskiw, Garth Watkins, former National team member Fred Matsabara, Jason Schwabe, and former Winnipeg Goldeye coach Scott Neiles.

They were an unbeatable force. The Native Sons were led on the Field by Coaches Hank Gibson (deceased), Cam Bouchard and GM Wes Powell.

The Sons won championships with great pitching, defense and timely hitting. This truely was a team effort as all players who were involved over the 89-93 seasons played and contributed to their success.