Old trophy thief needs to come clean

Some people have an inkling. Others have a sneaking suspicion. A couple seem to have it dead-panned.

Who has the second Powerline Baseball League trophy that went missing during the late 1980s run of the Ryley Rebels?

The trophy had champions dating back to the 50s it’s believed, maybe longer. Currently, the newest hardware – the one we see handed over each year in August – “only” dates back to 1987 when the Holden Blue Jays knocked off the Rebels that year.

“There was actually also an original one that went back to the 30s,” guessed Ray Lehman, who asked that his “Legend” status be understated from now on. “But there is the one after that, and someone has to still have it.”

That someone remains an unsolved mystery. But it’s not a mystery to several people in the Bardo, Ryley and Tofield areas. Some older PBL players have said they are confident a non-player snatched it away after a post-game celebration one night, but do not want to name him publicly…yet. He has it stashed away somewhere for “no reason,” they said.

Why anyone who would have not played in this league – not even played baseball even – would keep that trophy is beyond me? It may have been “funny” for a few years back in the day, but now it’s just ludicrous.

It’s a piece of history that has no business being with someone of this ilk. I know I may be sounding a little ridiculous here, but the culprit has literally committed a crime for more than 20 years and it’s time to hand it over.

So be a man, hand it over and our days of hating you are forgiven. No questions, no heckling and no punishment. But keep it? Well, no punishment we can give you in this lifetime will suffice. But be rest assured, as a wise old-but-not-too old man once told me in the Tofield Last Chance Saloon:

“It says it in the Bible, well maybe not quite like this, but basically ‘What goes around comes around,’” he said. “You can cheat (and steal) for a while, but someday, somewhere it will come back to bite you.”