RUSSELL ''CASEY'' CRIPPS Retired manager, Dynes Jewellers Fastball World Champions 1972 passes

March 28, 2008

Legendary baseball coach Casey Cripps dies

RUSSELL ''CASEY'' CRIPPS Retired manager, Dynes Jewellers Fastball World Champions 1972 Suddenly, but peacefully at York Central Hospital, Richmond Hill on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008. Beloved husband of the late Carmen. Dear brother of Hazel Auger and brother-in-law of Betty Pearson and Norm Fillion and will be remembered by his nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the MARSHALL FUNERAL HOME, 10366 Yonge St., Richmond Hill (4th traffic light north of Major Mackenzie Dr.) on Friday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Service in the Chapel on Saturday 1 p.m. In Casey's memory, donations made to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated.

I want to pass along the passing of fastpitch legend casey cripps of the 1972 World Champion Richmond Hill Dynes Jewellers.  He was a face we always saw at town park in Richmond Hill for over 40 years,for details of the funeral check http://www.marshallfuneralhome.com/runtime.php?SiteId=14057&NavigatorId=99090
he will be missed.

glen polhamus
glenpoco@hotmail.com

Richmond Hill Liberal FULL STORY

Russell "Casey" Cripps died this week at 87.

Richmond Hill

Mar 27, 2008 05:20 PM

By: Caroline Grech, Staff Writer

Never one to blend into the background, Russell “Casey” Cripps was as colourful on the baseball field as he was off of it.

With a passion for fastball and softball, Mr. Cripps put Richmond Hill on the map in both sports. In 1960, he and his team, the Wimbridge Cleaners, brought home the town’s first championship — the Amateur Softball Association intermediate AA title.

But that title was only a sign of many more things to come.

Mr. Cripps died Tuesday at the age of 87, but his legendary sporting contributions to the town live on.

Stanley Thornington, who knew Mr. Cripps for about 50 years, first met him as an opposition player.

“He would throw rocks at you if you had got his goat,” Mr. Thornington said.

Later, Mr. Thornington served as an assistant coach to Mr. Cripps.

Taking a tough love approach to leading his ball teams, it was in 1972 that Mr. Cripps led the Dynes Jewellers team to win the world fastball championship in Manilla, The Phillipines.

While he was loved by his players off the field, the message was clear on the field.

“You better do what he said or be dressed the way he wanted you to be or you could expect to be sitting on the bench for a few games,” Mr. Thornington said. “Keep your mind on the game. That was clear. He didn’t pull any punches.”  

Not one to mince words, in an interview with The Liberal in 2003, Mr. Cripps described his coaching style.

“Everybody has got different attitudes,” he said. “You have to knit them together. When you knit them together, you have a winning attitude.”

But more than that, Mr. Cripps also believed a strong hand was needed to guide any team.

“You’ve got to show authority. You’ve got to build that into them.”

It was his emotional and colourful actions as a coach that drew fans out to watch games.

In May 2003, Mr. Cripps was inducted into the Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame.

“Playing ball was his first love, there’s no doubt about that,” Mr. Thornington said.

By day, he was an advertising representative for the Richmond Hill Liberal for many years.

While the world fastball championship was perhaps his most noted championship, there were several others in his career.

Among them was the 1971 Ontario Amateur Softball Association Senior Elimination Tournament in Nova Scotia and the national title he won coaching the Dynes team. He also won the Bulova Watch Tournament at the Canadian National Exhibition 13 times.

The memory of Casey Cripps will be forever entrenched not only in the Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame, but at the Richmond Green Recreation Complex, where the main original baseball diamond, also known as Diamond #3, is named after him.

While he was tough as nails, always ready to take on an umpire or player who displeased him, there was a softer side to him off the field.

“He would bend over backwards if anybody needed his help,” Mr. Thornington said.