2016 Inductees

Ed Malloy – Athlete

Growing up in Belleville, Ontario, Ed Malloy and his fellow youngsters were fortunate to have ballfields to play on that were maintained by the local fire department. Firemen and policemen also coached many of the minor softball teams in the area.

Respect for the firefighters and especially the policemen inspired Ed to choose police work as his career. He joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1962, and after training in Ottawa, was posted to Nova Scotia.

Ed was first stationed in Barrington Passage, where he played softball for the RCAF Barrington team.
The following year, 1963, he was transferred to Kentville. He joined the Cambridge Red & Whites fastball team that was coached by Dr. Ron Thorpe and included a number of Berwick natives.
Dr. Thorpe, he recalled, had “assembled a fine group of men who had a lot of fun playing, and of course winning.” The Red & Whites were classed as an Intermediate C team. Two other teams in their league were classed as Senior B.

In 1964, the Red & Whites captured the league championship, then defeated teams from Halifax, Glace Bay and finally Fredericton to win both the provincial and Maritime crowns.

According to Dr. Thorpe, it was the first time a team from the Valley had captured the Maritime title. That 1964 team is among our Hall of Fame inductees this evening.

One of the many strengths of the 1964 Red & Whites was their pitching, which was mainly handled by Carl Best, Brian Bethune and Ed. All had their signature moments during that season.

In the second and series-deciding game against the Halifax Longshoremen, Ed went the distance for Cambridge, allowing just four hits and earning the victory.

Arguably his finest pitching performance of the season came in the opening game of the Maritime final against Fredericton, played at Central Kings Rural High School in Cambridge.

According to Stuart Johnstone’s report of the game, ‘Big Ed’ “had the New Brunswick champions eating out of his hand.” Again, he allowed just four hits, “two of them,” according to Johnstone, “because of the slippery conditions in the infield.”

Fredericton’s hits, by four different players, “were well-scattered,” and “the Cambridge defensive work behind Malloy’s fastball coupled together for a good day” and an eventual 13-2 victory. A 14-7 victory in game two the following weekend in Fredericton earned Cambridge the Maritime title.

Unfortunately, Ed’s career with the Red & Whites ended with that 1964 season. In 1965, he was transferred again, this time to Halifax. That season, he suited up for Kline Motors in the Senior A league and was named the Rookie of the Year.

From 1966-1978, Ed played for a number of teams, including Mahar Transfer, Halifax Keiths and Dairy Queen. His teams were regular competitors for national and international championships.

Over the course of his career, Ed pitched eight no-hitters, and won earned run average titles and Most Valuable Player awards.

Retiring from softball, Ed started a senior hockey team in Dartmouth in 1979, and is considered by many to have been the founder of the Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League.

During the 1980s, the Dartmouth Moosehead Mounties won eight provincial senior championships. In 1990, Dartmouth won the Canadian senior championship played in Alberta.

Retired from the RCMP for several years, Ed now makes his home in Dartmouth. Her is remembered by his Red & Whites teammates as a great competitor and a great teammate.

For his long and successful career in softball, and in particular his place on the 1964 Cambridge Red & Whites, and for his contributions to senior hockey, the Berwick Sports Hall of Fame, is pleased to induct, in the athlete category, Ed Malloy.