PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 8, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. — A true pioneer of the Victoria community, on and off the baseball field, will be recognized this summer at Royal Athletic Park.

The HarbourCats are very pleased to host Doug Hudlin Night on June 13 when the Port Angeles Lefties play the HarbourCats at 6:35pm. It will be the second of a two-game series between the teams, which is the first visit to Victoria by the Lefties.

Celebrating the beginning of a new regional rivalry between Victoria and Port Angeles is a very fitting setting with which to honour the contributions of Doug Hudlin, who served as an umpire in Victoria for more than 40 years.

Born in Victoria in 1922, Hudlin was the grandson of Nancy and Charles Alexander, Victoria’s earliest black pioneers. His contributions stretched far beyond the baseball field. Hudlin was the founding director of the B.C. Black History Awareness Society.

Hudlin is being inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 24, and is also being honoured by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum this fall.

On June 13 at Royal Athletic Park, Hudlin will be honored in a pregame ceremony on the field. It will include comments from his niece, Barbara Hudlin, as well as HarbourCats head coach Brian McRae. In keeping with Doug’s passion for Little League baseball, players from National Little League will accompany speakers on the field.

Hudlin’s greatest impact likely came from his time as a Little League umpire, beginning in 1953. In 1967, Hudlin became the first non-American to be invited to umpire the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. He would work the event twice, 1967 and 1974, becoming the first international umpire to work in two Little League World Series. He would also umpire two Senior Little League World Series. In total, Hudlin would umpire five Canadian Little League Championships (1966-67, 1973, 1981, 1987).

From the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame: “[Hudlin was] known for his good humor and sense of fairness, Hudlin evolved into one of his province’s most respected umpires.”

Hudlin was elected president of the Victoria District Umpires Association and served in that capacity until 1974, when he became president of the B.C Baseball Umpires Association, a position he held until 1979. Additionally, The Doug Hudlin Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a B.C. umpire.

“As a young boy growing up playing Little League in Victoria, it was a thrill to have Mr. Hudlin come to your park and umpire a game that you were playing in,” says HarbourCats general manager Brad Norris-Jones. “Every year Mr. Hudlin would go to all of the different Little Leagues in Victoria and umpire one game at every park. You would just hope that your team was playing in that game.”

In 1988, Hudlin added the B.C. Summer Games to his resume and umpired his final little league game four years later in 1992.

The Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame inducted Hudlin in 1998.

Hudlin was inducted into the B.C. Baseball Umpires Association Hall of Fame in 2011. The association also annually presents the Doug Hudlin Distinguished Service Award to a dedicated and long-serving B.C. umpire.

The HarbourCats open the 2017 WCL season on June 1 on the road against the WCL’s newest team, the Port Angeles Lefties. Their home opener at Royal Athletic Park is June 5 when the Wenatchee AppleSox visit Victoria.

Single game tickets are available at the HarbourCats office and online: https://t.co/8fTF63alFb

 2017 SEASON TICKETS

Over 60,000 fans attended HarbourCats games in 2016 for an average of 2,239 fans per game, which led the West Coast League and ranked ninth in all of North America among summer-collegiate clubs.  Secure your favorite seat today for the 2017 season.

Seating location and pricing (Fees and taxes included) options are as follows—

CAMPBELL REAL ESTATE CLUB SEATS (Padded & served. First two rows of Grandstand.)

$589.50

DIAMOND CLUB SEATS (Added in 2016)

$589.50 (SOLD OUT)

MAIN GRANDSTAND (Section 10, covered)

$426.75

PREMIUM SEATING (Sections 6-7-8-9-11-12, blue bucket seats)

$405.75

GENERAL ADMISSION (Silver bleachers, picnic areas, wheelchair seating, soccer grandstand)

$300.75

*All prices listed are base price, and do not include fees or GST.

Visit the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or call (778)-265-0327 to purchase season tickets or for more information. You can also email brittany@harbourcats.com for further details, or go to the team website at harbourcats.com.

PORT ANGELES OPENING DAY EXCURSION

 The HarbourCats have partnered with Black Ball Ferry Line to provide Victoria baseball fans an opportunity to ‘get off the rock’ and follow the HarbourCats to Opening Day in Port Angeles, WA.

Black Ball, which operates the Coho Ferry, is providing travel packages for fans to travel from Victoria to Port Angeles on Thursday, June 1 to watch the HarbourCats open the 2017 West Coast League season against the Port Angeles Lefties.

It is also the inaugural game in Lefties franchise history and marks the beginning of a rivalry between two of the closest markets in the WCL, separated by just a 90-minute Coho sailing.

Registration deadline is May 10.

Click here to register and for more information: https://www.cohoferry.com/packages/details/port-angeles/victoria-harbourcats-vs-port-angeles-lefties-in-port-angeles-june-1-2017-including-red-lion-hotel-and-ferry-

2017 SEATTLE VACATION

The HarbourCats are staging their second consecutive fan vacation to Seattle in 2017 to see the Blue Jays take on the Mariners.

The 2017 vacation takes place June 9-11, 2017 and will include:

• Travel on Wilson’s Transportation buses from to and from Victoria and Seattle. Ferry cost also included.
• Field level tickets for all three Blue Jays @ Mariners games at Safeco Field.
• Two nights at the Hilton Embassy Lynnwood.

Total cost is $798 per person (based on double occupancy). Different rates available for triple as well as single occupancy.

Registration for HarbourCats season ticket holders is $725 (based on double occupancy). The trip is not expected to interfere with the HarbourCats home schedule, as the team is expected to be on the road during this time.

To register, contact Carey Shelby at Flight Centre (1-866-299-5614) or carey.shelby@flightcentre.ca

OFFICE HOURS

The HarbourCats office (1814 Vancouver Street, 778-265-0327) is open and operating under off-season hours.

May office hours:

MONDAY-FRIDAY – 9:00am – 5:30pm

SATURDAY-SUNDAY – Closed (Except by appointment)