Every so often, an old newspaper clipping says more than a box score ever could.
Tucked away in the archives is a Christmas-season column by sportswriter Dave Dryburgh, a playful piece built around a simple idea: if Santa Claus were delivering gifts to Saskatchewan’s sporting world, what would everyone ask for?
The answers range from hopeful to humorous. A winning football team. A shutout over Calgary. A packed stadium. A big-league ball club. A referee who could work by remote control from the bench. Even a hockey league that would back up its officials.
Line by line, Dryburgh’s list captures something deeper than seasonal whimsy. It reveals how central sport was, and still is, to prairie life. These weren’t just wishes for trophies or championships; they were wishes for community, pride, and shared moments in the stands, on the ice, and around the radio.
What makes the column especially charming is how familiar it still feels. Decades later, we continue to hope for full arenas, competitive teams, fair calls, and seasons that give us something to cheer about through long winters. The names change, the leagues evolve, and the venues come and go, but the spirit remains remarkably consistent.
That continuity is what draws me back to pieces like this. Prairie sport has always been about more than winning. It’s about gathering, storytelling, memory, and belonging. It’s about the small towns and city rinks, the semi-pro diamonds, the volunteer coaches, and the fans who show up year after year, even when the standings aren’t kind.
As another year comes to a close, this column feels like a fitting reminder of why I started Home Runs & Dirt Roads in the first place: to trace those through-lines, to celebrate the overlooked stories, and to keep prairie sports history alive, not as nostalgia, but as lived experience.
Thank You, and Onward to 2026
Before turning the page on the calendar, I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has read, shared, commented on, supported, and encouraged Home Runs & Dirt Roads this past year.
2025 was a full one. It carried me from archives to ballparks, from exhibition spaces to community diamonds. Along the way, I had the privilege of curating and sharing baseball history tied to the Indian Head Rockets, helping bring a tribute game and commemorative baseball card series to life, and continuing to uncover prairie stories that sit just outside the margins of the mainstream record. It was also a year shaped by research, writing, and reflection, including the completion and defense of my graduate work.
None of that happens in isolation.
This work is built on conversations, with former players, families, archivists, historians, museum colleagues, and readers who care deeply about preserving local sport and community memory. Whether you sent along a clipping, shared a post, stopped to talk baseball history in the stands, or trusted me with a story connected to you or your family, please know how much that support matters.
As we head into 2026, I’m grateful not just for what was accomplished, but for the community that makes this work possible. I wish you all good health, good stories, and many moments worth cheering for, on the field, in the rink, and wherever prairie sport continues to bring people together.
Here’s to another year of history, memory, and dirt roads worth following.
Home Runs & Dirt Roads 