In 1981, diamonds – at least of the baseball kind – were indeed New Brunswick’s best friends. A silver medal in Canada Games and in the national Little League championship play; a bronze for national midget competition; and, for the first time ever, a gold medal for the Marysville Royals at the Canadian Senior Baseball championship held in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. What a year! They went 3 and 0 in Atlantic competition followed by a 5 and 1 record at nationals. Their only loss was to Kentville – a team they bounced back to beat 16 to 4 in the double elimination final. Once again the boys from Baseball Hill showed they belonged at the top of the podium. Fredericton honoured them with a place on its Sports Wall of Fame, and the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball designated New Brunswick as “Canadian Province of the Year”. Who says diamonds aren’t very special jewels! Enrolled in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, June 4th, 2005.