2013 Inductees

Lloyd (Bruz) Cook – Athlete

A talented athlete in a variety of sports, Lloyd (Bruz) Cook was arguably best known for his exploits on the softball field. His career included time spent with some of the Valley’s most storied teams.

The first recorded instance of Bruz playing softball was as a teenager in 1947 at the old Cambridge school, now the Cambridge Community Centre.
Throwing with his left arm, which would at times be an advantage, he and his teammates played in a school league that also included Grafton, Waterville and Woodville.

In 1951 and 1952, Bruz played for Cambridge in a newly-formed softball league consisting of community teams from Berwick, Cambridge, Waterville and Woodville.

In 1953, he moved on to a Valley league that featured teams from Aylesford, Berwick, Cambridge, Greenwood and Waterville. Bruz played for the Waterville Mohawks, which later moved to Aylesford retaining the nickname.

In 1956, the Mohawks, with Bruz in the lineup as a left-handed pitcher, won the Nova Scotia and P.E.I. intermediate championship, playing against an Air Force squad.

After that, Bruz returned to Cambridge and spent a number of seasons with the Cambridge Tigers, an outstanding team with a loyal following of fans and even their own media scribe in the person of Hall of Famer Stuart E. Johnstone.

In 1960, Bruz helped the Tigers to the N.S. and P.E.I. championship as well as the Maritime intermediate ‘C’ title.

In one game against the New Brunswick champions, an army team from Fredericton, Bruz pitched the finest game of his 10-year career, at one stage retiring 12 in a row, allowing a hit and ultimately a run, then retiring the last 10 Fredericton batters in order.

The game was called due to darkness in the eighth inning with Cambridge ahead 11-1.

Bruz also excelled in other sports. While attending Kings County Academy in Kentville in 1948, he played defense on the KCA hockey team that made it to the provincial Headmasters competition.

From 1954-1960, Bruz played defense for the South Alton team in the Kings County hockey League, and after that, for the Coldbrook Aces.
Coldbrook won its second of two league championships in 1961, defeating Brooklyn in the final with Bruz in the lineup on defense. During his time playing for Coldbrook, Bruz won the Kentville Hardware trophy as his team’s Most Valuable Player.

In later years, Bruz joined the curling club in Berwick and curled from 1964-1972. He played at first with skip George Adams, and later, while throwing lead stones for Dave Miller, their team represented Berwick at the provincials in New Glasgow.

Although he was a talented performer in many sports, Bruz is best known as a softball player who for many years, played with and against teams and players from Berwick. The Berwick Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct, in the athlete category, Lloyd (Bruz) Cook.