State Championships help American Legion teams get into LSHOF
By Lethbridge Herald on May 7, 2025.
Submitted photoA couple of strong Lethbridge American Legion baseball teams of the 1980s are entering the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night.
The 1986 Lethbridge Miners and the 1987 Lethbridge Elks baseball teams will be enshrined into the LSHOF after capping those seasons respectively with Montana State championships.
The Miners finished that regular season in second place in the Montana State “B” Division standings and at the East Division tournament placed third to advance to the State Championship in Dillon, Mont.
Lethbridge went 5-1 in that tournament to take home the State Championship
“I think the team just jelled really quickly from the start,” said Don Aos, who played for both of those teams.
“ There was just great team chemistry and it just kind of grew from there throughout the season.”
Aos felt the team peaked by the championship.
“That was a team that kind of always seemed to comeback from the ‘B’ side of tournaments,” said Aos.
“To win that State Championship, we had to come up through the ‘B’ side. We had lost early in the tournament, so we came up through the ‘B’ side, eventually beating the defending State Champions and then beating probably the favourite team out of Havre twice to win the championship.”
That Miners team was the first Canadian team to win a Montana State “B” championship.
They then lost in the final at the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships in Hamilton, Mont.
Lethbridge went an undefeated 4-0 as well in their home tournament that year.
That roster included of Aos, Lauren Bell, Craig Deal, Jeff Davies, Mike Ell, Kevin Garinger, Bruce Giacchetta, Don Groves, Trevor Jorgensen, Brad Londeau, Scott Lambert, Todd Maier, Shane Mazutinec, Rob Virginillo and Joel Weaver.
Ten of those players from that Miners team, including Aos, went up to the Elks team in 1987, who went on to win their third Montana American Legion “A” Division championship in seven seasons.
The Elks went 4-0 in that tournament, including a 9-4 win against Billings in the final.
They finished fourth at the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships in Wyoming.
“So that team kinda hit the ground running from the beginning of the year (with) being more familiar with one another and perhaps having a confidence from the previous year,” said Aos.
“ That team was dominant kind of from day one if I can say that.”
Aos, Lauren Bell, Mike Ell, Bruce Giacchetta, Don Groves, Trevor Jorgensen, Scott Lambert, Todd Maier, Rob Virginillo Joel Weaver, Brad Anderson, Doug Durina, Guy Lapointe and Ron McKinlay made up the Elks roster
The bench had Mike Barker, who was head coach and Scott Maxwell and Robert Larson, who were assistant coaches.
All the inductees with go into the LSHOF during a banquet tomorrow night at Agri-Food Hub in the Lakeview Salon beginning at 5:30 p.m.
“We’ve never necessarily looked for recognition for it but it’s always something us as a group knew was pretty special at the time,” said Aos.
Tickets can be purchased at http://www.lethbridgesportshalloffame.ca.
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