The Great North Battleford Beavers, Emile Francis, and the Undercover Agent: A Tale of Hilarious Hijinks

• Shared at the 2023 Baseball Reunion by Gale Tuggle

Preface: Please note that the following account is a retelling of events and is not a verbatim transcript. While the essence and humor of the original stories have been preserved, some details have been adjusted for clarity and readability. I hope you enjoy this embellished recounting of a truly memorable experience! This is one of my favourite stories from last year’s baseball reunion that I helped organize in Saskatoon. Gale shared it with me at supper the night before and he, his wife Sandy and I were laughing so hard we were crying. I encouraged him to share the story again the day of the reunion. – Robyn

Ah, the 1956 Beavers—possibly the greatest team I ever played on. And trust me, that includes the time I played for junior college, Mississippi, Florida State University, and beyond. I came up to North Battleford, met the locals, and joined the Western Canadian League. I had the privilege of being managed by Emile Francis, who, if you didn’t know, was a hockey legend. Now, coming from Alabama’s finest, I wasn’t exactly a hockey aficionado, but having Emile as our manager was like having a cheat code for hockey wisdom.

Emile taught me much about the sport, mainly through our travels to and from games. And boy, did we accumulate some stories! There are so many great anecdotes that Johnny Ford, my teammates, or even I could regale you with. But since we have a mixed crowd here, I’ll keep some of those gems to myself—some stories are better left untold!

One that everyone loves to hear is the infamous Edmonton incident of 1957. Emile and Johnny Ford found themselves in the middle of what became known as the Renfrew Riot. Emile, let’s say, had a “unique” way of handling authority, especially when it came to umpires. Johnny, ever the team player, decided he couldn’t let Emile get pushed around, so he waded into the fray himself. The result? Johnny ended being fined and almost jailed, and we ended up with a story that never fails to crack us up.

Then there was the memorable doubleheader in Saskatoon. I was catching the first game when a runner was headed home from third base. I had the ball, I had the gear, and I was ready for a collision of epic proportions. There was no room for sliding back then—if you were in my way, you were getting run over. I braced myself, ready for the impact.

As the runner barreled toward me, I tagged him out. However, the opposing manager argued I hadn’t given him enough of the plate. Cue the manager drama: Emile stormed out of the dugout, waving his arms and making a scene. The ensuing chaos saw all manner of equipment—bats, balls, jugs of water—spewing out of the dugout and covering the field. Emile was ejected, and the game continued with me in right field and Louis Green catching.

Then came one of the most surreal moments of my career. With Emile banished from the stadium, he decided to make a grand re-entry…by hiding under the bleachers in right field. Yep, our manager was now an undercover agent, issuing orders from beneath the seats.

During the game, I kept hearing someone call my name. I’d look up, only to find my teammates as confused as I was. Turns out, Emile had snuck back in, hidden in the grass, and was directing traffic from his covert location. “Don’t look over here, just listen to me!” he’d whisper. And so, while trying not to crack up, I relayed Emile’s secret orders to the team.

Kenny Nelson, one of my fellow players, and I shared a laugh as I passed on Emile’s instructions from his hideout. The whole team was in on the joke, and we played the next two innings of the game with Emile’s covert commands coming through me. Once Emile felt he’d given all the necessary directions, he vanished as mysteriously as he’d appeared. The fact that he managed to escape without being caught again is still a mystery.

If you knew Emile or had heard stories about his NHL days, you wouldn’t find it hard to believe he was hiding under a bleacher. That was the kind of team I had the pleasure of playing with and loving during my time in North Battleford. Good times, great stories, and one unforgettable manager.

Additional Tidbits

Watch John (Johnny) Ford talk about the Renfrew Riot: https://youtu.be/4QWlFDqZlac