The University of Calgary is pleased to welcome Bret Boone as the guest speaker for the 12th annual baseball and fastball fundraising dinner to be held on Thursday February 5, 2015 at the Red & White club. The dinner is one of the major fundraising initiatives for the baseball and fastball teams and all proceeds from the event go to support the team's programs and student-athletes.

Bret Boone is a former second baseman who played 14 seasons in the Major Leagues. Boone played with five teams including Seattle and Cincinnati. During his early days with Seattle Bret played with the Calgary Cannons AAA team prior to his major league breakthrough. Bret Boone was a three-time All-star; a two-time Silver Slugger and a four-time Gold Glove award winner during his time in the Major Leagues.

An infielder with power, Boone hit for over 20 homeruns in a season over six times. His best offensive season was 2001 when he had 37 homeruns and 147 RBI's.

In 1992 when he made the majors Bret Boone became the first 3rd generation major leaguer. His father Bob Boone was a catcher from 1972 - 1990 and later a manager; his grandfather Ray was an infielder from 1948 - 1960 and Bret's brother Aaron was a third baseman. Bret and Aaron made Major League history in 1998 and became part of baseball trivia when they and the Larkin brothers (Stephen and Barry) became the first starting infield composed of two sets of brothers.

Known for his sense of humour with the media and in the clubhouse, it is said that Boone took up not one but three lockers, "one for him, another with a nameplate above that read 'Boone's friend' and a third with a nameplate that read 'Boone's friend's friend' that was scattered with about 100 bats."

The University of Calgary Dinos Baseball and Fastball teams are proud to announce Gregg Zaun as their guest at the 10th annual fundraising dinner. Zaun played in the major leagues for 16 years and is currently an analyst for Rogers Sportsnet. Known for telling it as it is, Zaun is sure to entertain and amuse.

Gregg Zaun, as a catcher, played 16 years in the major leagues including Toronto, Baltimore and Florida. Zaun captured a World Series Championships with Florida in 1997 and with Toronto in 2008 he hit a walk off homerun in the 13th inning. Zaun, in 2006, is one of a few major leaguers to hit a homerun from both sides of the plate in a single game.

The fundraising dinner is known for it's past, notable, speakers, providing attendees with an intimate and personable evening. Previous speakers have including:
Tim Raines
Jim Abbott
Ferguson Jenkins
Ken Griffey Sr.
Jack Morris
Bill Buckner

The dinner will be held on Thursday February 6 at the Red & White Club (McMahon Stadium). Reception at 6pm, dinner at 7pm. Cash bar and silent auction. Tickets are $200, tables of 8 available.

The baseball and fastball dinner is the major fundraising activity for the Dinos baseball and fastball teams, with all proceeds from the dinner going to support team activities and the student-athletes.
 

Canadian baseball legend Ferguson Jenkins was the keynote speaker at the 2011 fundraising dinner for the Dinos baseball and fastball clubs. The event was held Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 at the Red and White Club, McMahon Stadium.
Jenkins follows a long line of distinguished speakers at the event – a list that includes Jim Abbott, Jack Morris, Bill Buckner, and 2010 speaker Ken Griffey Sr.

A native of Chatham, Ont., Jenkins was a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher. After breaking into the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965, his 19-year career also included stops in Texas and Boston, but it is his work with the Chicago Cubs from 1966-73 and again from 1982-83 that he is best remembered for.

His 1971 season with the Cubs earned him the National League’s Cy Young award, a first for a Canadian. From 1967-72 he recorded six consecutive 20-win seasons, a feat that has yet to be equalled, and finished his career with a 284-226 record and a 3.34 ERA.

Along with Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, and Pedro Martinez, Jenkins is one of just four MLB pitchers to have recorded more than 3,000 strikeouts while allowing fewer than 1,000 walks in his career.

In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and just four years later he became the first-ever Canadian to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. His jersey number 31, which he shared with Maddux, was jointly retired by the Cubs in May 2009. He will celebrate his 67th birthday on Dec. 13.

One of baseball’s best pitchers and most memorable characters reflected on a legendary career: Thursday, Jan. 17, Red & White Club, McMahon Stadium
 
Jack Morris was a five-time all star who won World Series rings with Detroit, Minnesota (on the strength of a ten inning pitching performance that earned him the 1991 MVP award) and Toronto.
 
Known as a bulldog and a workhorse on the mound, Morris won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980s. His ferocious, competitive nature added a certain edge to his fastball, slider and his trademark pitch – a devastating split finger fastball.
 
In 1984 he had what many would consider to be a near perfect season. He began the year by throwing a no-hitter against the White Sox (April 7th) and  ended it with two complete game victories against the Padres in the World Series.
 
Off the mound, it was a different story. Morris was often described as “prickly” by the media. Many baseball observers believe this, is a one reason the mustachioed pitcher is not in the Hall of Fame.