David William Shury was born on Sept. 2, 1930 to William James and Florence Mildred Shury at Wilkie. He took Grades 1 through 5 at Drummond Creek School and Grades 6 through 12 at McLurg School in Wilkie. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan Law School with an LL.B in 1954 and was admitted to the Law Society of Saskatchewan.
Dave was with the attorney general's office in Saskatoon from 1956 to 1959. He then practiced law in North Battleford from 1959 to 1994. It is worth noting that Dave was president of the Battlefords Bar Association from 1961 to 1971, sectional chairman of the Canadian Bar Association, Saskatchewan Division in 1975, appointed to Queen's Council in 1981 and acted as senior counsel for the Salvation Army in North Battleford from 1990 to 1994.
Dave was involved in many community organizations but baseball was his first love and remained his primary interest throughout his life. There is little doubt that David Shury was the most influential person to promote the sport of baseball in both our community and province. He also had a prominent role at the national level. Above all, Dave was a builder of the sport of amateur baseball. This essay is a chronology - the story of David Shury's extraordinary success in the advancement of the great sport of baseball.
Dave played ball in high school. He managed his first team at age 20. In 1955, he was elected president of the Saskatchewan Minor Baseball Association and remained on the executive until 1966. He also served as managing director, secretary and managing editor of the association's newsletter. During this time, he was also instrumental in having the Saskatchewan Minor Baseball Association renamed as the Saskatchewan Baseball Association and recognized both provincially and federally. He took the lead in drafting a constitution, publishing a newsletter and writing for numerous baseball periodicals. Most importantly, Dave brought organized baseball to every corner of Saskatchewan.
Dave took on increasingly more responsibility as the years passed. In 1966, Dave became the secretary of the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball, a position he held until 1970. He was subsequently made advisor to the president for the following four years (until 1972). These were critical years for the CFAB. Dave took the lead in getting the organization on a solid financial footing. Importantly, he was instrumental in re-establishing a positive relationship with Ottawa and a number of provinces and repairing the damage done by previous administrations. Dave had a major role in ensuring the CFAB, now Baseball Canada, was recognized in all provinces. In addition, he was the driving force behind the formation of Canada's First National Baseball Team which represented our nation at the Pan-Am games in 1967. He also chaired a committee to make certain that baseball would be a category one sport at the Sports Administration Centre in Ottawa. Dave's energy and dedication were reflected in his work to revise the constitution. He also created and edited a publication entitled The Canadian Baseball News. Finally, Dave represented Canada at the meeting of the International Federation of Baseball in 1967.
Dave was a pragmatic administrator and politically adept, to be sure, but he was also a scholarly man. Dave was the historian for the Saskatchewan Baseball Association from 1974 to 1982. Dave was a major player in the formation of the Western Canada Baseball Association in 1965 and was the charter secretary until 1967, the same year in which he received the Centennial Medal for his many contributions. Dave collected articles and papers on Saskatchewan baseball history for decades. He also wrote and published several books on amateur baseball in our province. These included Play Ball Son (1986), Batter Up (1990), Satch in Saskatchewan (1996) and Wheat Province Diamonds (1997).
In 1983, Dave founded the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Association Inc. and served as its president until 1999, and executive director for a number of years thereafter.
Given Dave's many important successes, it should not be surprising that he was recognized and honoured. In addition to receiving the prestigious Centennial Medal in 1967, Dave was the recipient of many other awards related to baseball as well as numerous life memberships. In 1966, he was named man of the year by the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In the same year, he was the Saskatchewan Baseball Association's sportsman of the year. In addition, he was honoured as a Paul Harris Fellow by the North Battleford Rotary Club in 1987. He was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame as a builder in 1987.
In 1992, he was the recipient of the Canada 125 medal. In 1995, he was honoured with a certificate of achievement from the province of Saskatchewan. He received the merit award from the Canadian Paraplegic Association in 1996. In 1999, he was awarded a Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal. In 2000, Dave was inducted into the Frontier Mall (North Battleford) Wall of Fame, and he received the Multiple Sclerosis President's Award in the same year. In 2002, Dave was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. In 2003, Dave was the recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award by Baseball Canada and Major League Baseball. In 2004, he was inducted into the North Battleford Sports Hall of Fame. He was also listed in the 2004 edition of the Canadian Who's Who publication. Finally, in 2005, Dave was honoured with the Saskatchewan Centennial Leadership Award.
Remarkably, despite Dave's commitment to baseball, and his profession, he still found time to associate himself with community-minded organizations including the Kinsmen Club, K-40, Kin Foundation, Rotary Club, MS Society, Royal Canadian Legion, Salvation Army, Law Society and Liberal Party of Saskatchewan and Canada.
David Shury and Jane Frances Miller were married on March 24, 1956. They enjoyed a wonderful 52 years together. They were blessed with two children, Debra and William (Brent), and seven amazing grandchildren. In 1955, Dave was diagnosed with a neurological disease similar to multiple sclerosis. He was confined to a wheelchair from 1969 to the end of his life. Sadly, David passed from this life on Oct. 22, 2008.
On the occasion of North Battleford's centennial, we pause to remember this immensely talented and selfless man for his many contributions to our city. In particular, we remember him for his unwavering commitment to the sport of baseball which has greatly enriched our community, our province and our country. We are indebted to a most remarkable citizen - David William Shury.
