In 1975, Victoria Bate Construction won the BC Senior A men’s championship for the fifth straight year.

The team went on to win the Canadian Senior A championship in the same year (they would win again in both 1976 and 1977). This victory qualified the team to play at the 1976 world championships.

In Wellington, New Zealand, the team won the title of 1976 co-world champions. Twelve nations competed, but bad weather forced the cancellation of the tournament before it could be completed. The “co-title” was shared between the semi-finalists: Canada, New Zealand, and USA.

The Victoria Bate team was unique because it was the only “club” team to win the world title (all others were All-Star teams). 1976 was the last year in which a club team would be represented at the world championship level.

Team Members:
Jack Bate (coach), Ken Bate, Randy Benn, Bob Burrows, Larry Cole, Lyall Cornett, Wayne Forland, Bob Holness, Bill James, Stan Kern, Joe Patterson (field manager and coach), Dave Ruthowsky, Peter Songhurst, Harvey Stevenson, Mike Taaffe, Reg Underwood, Carl Walker.