Powell River Sports Hall of Fame honours legendary baseball coach

Larry Gouthro Jr. vividly remembers his father, Larry Gouthro Sr., a slender man with an oversized baseball uniform and a slightly sideways cap, walking from the dugout.

With two hands in his back pockets, he slowly made his way to the pitcher’s mound. Halfway there, he reached out for the ball; this was when the pitcher knew things weren’t going well, and their time was done.

His father, a longtime beloved baseball coach in the qathet region, passed away in 2005, leaving behind his wife and two daughters, who reside locally, while Larry Jr. lives in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

In 2005, A local park was named after Larry Sr., who’s about to be recognized in the community for a second time, as one of 10 inductees into the Powell River Sports Hall of Fame later this spring, thanks to his many fans.

Dedicated coach

The celebrated baseball legend coached an estimated 1,000 kids over 40-odd years in the qathet region, including his son. His father played baseball, as did Larry Jr’s grandfather and uncle. His father had been coaching since he was too little to play.

Since he was nine years old, Larry Sr. coached Larry Jr. from little league until he finished Babe Ruth minor baseball in 1979.

The son of the future inductee remembers spending a lot of time with his father. They were also fishermen, so they saw way too much of each other during the baseball season.

“We got up at 3:30 in the morning and fished for a living,” said Larry Jr. “And baseball nights were good because we came in early so we could shower and go to the ballpark, and back out again the next day.”

His father would rent out gyms to teach young players in the offseason, showing them how to pitch and hit inside so they would be ready in the spring.

Larry Jr. said his dad was excellent at teaching the team how to win, and he made winning fun.

“He loved coaching as much as he loved to teach. He got just as big a bang out of teaching some kid that could barely pick up a bat how to hit. He liked making good players better, and he liked teaching us how to win and play. He also liked us to play the sport properly.”

Larry Jr. said the fundamentals were paramount to his dad. He made sure players caught the ball with two hands and were in the right position at all times. Most of all, he taught them to be great pitchers by schooling them on the mechanics of not just the arm but the whole body.

“Also the game strategy. You couldn’t outfox my father.”

Keeping it alive

Coaching and keeping baseball alive locally was important to his father. There were years where there weren’t enough volunteers, so Larry Sr. would coach two or three teams while acting as the equipment manager and even the president of minor baseball for a few years.

“He just didn’t want to see it die,” said Larry Jr., who considers how his dad would feel, given how small baseball is in the region today compared to the 16 little league teams, six pony teams and three in Babe Ruth, and rep teams, back in his father’s heyday.

“Powell River always had very competitive teams, so, I think he would be sad today to see the state of minor baseball. I know I’m sad when I see Manson Park, renamed after my father, to Larry Gouthro Park. That is a disc golf park today. I don’t even know if they play baseball there anymore.”

Bob Bogoslowski, an athlete under Larry Sr’s tutelage, was a driving force in petitioning to rename Manson Park to Larry Gouthro Park.

Larry Jr. remembers the park’s naming ceremony well. In September of 2005, only months before his father died, about six or seven hundred people watched as then City of Powell River mayor Stewart Alsgard presented his father with the park’s new sign.

“It was a very emotional and proud day for our family,” he said.

Banner year

Larry Jr. has many memories of his father coaching, but 1979 was an incredible year for them both. The provincials were hosted at Timberlane Park. His father was coaching, and Larry Jr. and the rest of the team played excellent baseball. Although they lost to Victoria in the finals, it would still be a signature year for the team and coach.

“That was the best team, for sure, that I’ve ever played on. And we were that close [to winning].”

After that game, the team all went up to Haslam Lake and decided to throw Larry Sr., the fisherman, into the water, then recognized he didn’t know how to swim. It took four or five of the boys to pull him out, said Larry Jr.

“He wasn’t mad or anything; he thought it was funny. But we got a little worried there for a second,” he laughed.

The induction

Mark MacDonald, another previous player coached by Larry Sr., nominated to induct him into the local sports hall of fame. The nomination was successful and Larry Gouthro Sr’s name and legacy will be recognized with the other nine inductees at a ceremony in June.

Larry Jr. said his father was the kind of guy who would rather have his teams recognized than himself.

“The teams he coached, winning would be all the recognition he needed.”

But his family is thrilled. Larry Jr. summarized that by quoting one of his sisters, who said: “He just keeps giving us gifts.”