One of the greatest athletes this region has ever produced passed away late last month at the age of 71.
Long-time baseball player, teacher, coach, and volunteer Barry Marchand passed away on April 25 at his home in Petit de Grat.
He was born at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish on July 7, 1949.
A native of Louisdale, Marchand graduated from Isle Madame District High where he excelled at all sports, then studied at StFX University, and later Teacher’s College, before becoming a Physical Education teacher in schools around Richmond County.
It was as an athlete that Marchand was best known, especially on the baseball diamond. According to his obituary, baseball was his passion from a young age when he would hitch hike to play in Sydney, even showing up late for his own wedding to finish a ball game.
Born just three weeks apart, former municipal councillor Gerry Bourque considers Marchand one of the best ballplayers ever to play anywhere in this province.
When the two were students at StFX, Bourque recalled a time when the former football coach Don Loney tried to recruit Marchand as a kicker/punter.
In 1964, Marchand joined the Petit de Grat Red Caps at 14 years old around the same time he was playing for the Sydney Steel Kings junior baseball team.
Marchand then went to play for the Louisdale Baracos when the Richmond Amateur Baseball Association (RABA) was formed in 1970.
In the late 1970s, Marchand played with the Sydney Sooners, then went to the St. Peter’s Royals, both of the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League (NSSBL), before returning to RABA action with Petit de Grat in the mid-1980s.
This excellence continued for many years, with Marchand leading the RABA in hitting well past the age of 50.
Marchand is also credited with helping to make major upgrades to the ballfield in Petit de Grat, including the installation of lights, and the expansion of the field and facility as part of project ’86.
In the years since, Marchand spent countless hours mowing the grass, screening the infield or making general repairs to the Petit de Grat Ballfield.
Marchand is also credited with helping construct the minor ballfield adjacent to St. Joseph’s Church in Petit de Grat.
Before he passed away, a group started the work to get Marchand enshrined into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
Arichat resident Gerry Samson worked for more than a year on the submission, which included input from Marchand, as well as statistics, four letters of recommendation, a nominating letter, a photo of the applicant, personal information (date of birth, address, postal code, initials, next of kin), how long he had been inactive in sports, and information on those who wrote letters of support.
Samson attended Isle Madame District High with Marchand in the early to mid-1960s, and was witness to his athletic brilliance as the star of the hockey, basketball and volleyball teams.
After watching a television program about the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame early in 2020, Samson felt he had to do something.
Samson said he then went online and was sent application forms from Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame manager – facility and communications, Shane Mailman.
A couple of days later, Samson spoke with Marchand during a pool tournament at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 150 in Arichat and he received his approval to proceed.
Samson then got in touch with Bourque, former Richmond MLA and provincial cabinet minister Richie Mann, former municipal councillor James Goyetche, as well as long-time team mate Richard Boudreau to provide written testimonials.
Once the submission was compiled, Samson sent it via registered mail to the Hall of Fame. He told The Reporter he is currently waiting for confirmation whether Marchand will be elected.
Bolstering Marchand’s submission is the fact that the Petit de Grat Red Caps are in the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, a team for which Marchand played for and coached most of his playing career.
Among his long list of accomplishments was playing on the Nova Scotia Baseball Intermediate ‘A’ championship team in 1977, MVP of the 1981 Atlantic Canadian Intermediate ‘B’ Baseball championship, a member of the 1982 Intermediate ‘A’ championship team, as well as 13 RABA championships from 1997-2010 with the Red Caps.
Marchand is well known all over the Maritimes, Boudreau wrote, noting that wherever he played, Marchand left an impression as a great hitter.
Although there were many stories about the many long homeruns hit by Marchand, the one which stands-out involves a round-tripper he hit at The Wanderers Grounds in Halifax that cleared the two streets behind the outfield fence.
At that is just one of the many, many stories about the athletic, and especially baseball, prowess of Barry Marchand.
The stories of the majestic home runs, the blazing pitches, the amazing outfield assists, and the impossible catches are innumerable, so too are the stories of the ease with which he could hit a golf ball, his pool-playing skills, his virtuosity in table tennis, his flawless shooting in basketball, a laser like slap shot, and his ability to punt a football like a professional.
On the field, Barry Marchand was almost superhuman in his abilities, but what might put him over-the-top are his efforts outside the lines and beyond his playing days.
Marchand and Adrian Boudreau are credited with spearheading a total overhaul of the ballfield in Petit de Grat, and the eventual erection of lights, but that was just the start of the work for Marchand, as he spent countless hours maintaining the field.
This came as Marchand served as a player-coach with the Red Caps well into his 60s.
Then after the community needed a minor baseball and softball field, Marchand once again stepped up to help make it a reality.
A strong case can be made that Marchand deserves induction for his baseball accomplishments alone, but the many years he spent supporting the game, will hopefully make his induction a slam dunk.