Members of the 2001 Saint John Alpines senior baseball squad will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame alongside Olympic medalist Frank (Red) Synott of Miramichi, Judy Astle of Boiestown, Sylvio Bourque of Grande-Digue, George Chase of Grand Bay-Westfield, and Rick Bowness of Moncton on May 31 at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John.
Synott and Bourque will be recognized posthumously. The induction gala will begin with a meet and greet at 6:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The sports hall announced the 2025 inductees late last month in a Facebook post.
In 2001, the Alpines reached the pinnacle of their years as a New Brunswick baseball powerhouse from 1993 to 2002. They captured five provincial titles in that span and won the provincial and national championships in 2001 before earning a silver medal at nationals in 2002.
The Alpines placed first in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League in back-to-back seasons in 2001 and 2002. They and their head coach, Mike Skidd, have previously been inducted into the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame.
The 2001-2002 Alpines were also added to the Baseball New Brunswick Hall of Fame in 2015.
Five individuals will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2025 alongside the 2001 Saint John Alpines senior baseball team. They include (top row, from left) Rick Bowness, George Chase, and Sylvio Bourque. Bottom row, from left: Judy Astle and Frank (Red) Synott. SUBMITTED
Born in 1891, Synott grew up in the former town of Chatham. He suited up for the Chatham Ironmen of the New Brunswick Senior Hockey League from 1910 to 1914 before moving south of the border and serving in the U.S. Navy during the First World War.
Synott played for the first two U.S. hockey teams at the Olympic Winter Games in 1920 and 1924, winning silver medals at both events. He’s believed to be the first New Brunswick-born Olympian and Olympic medalist. He was one of three Canadians to play for Team U.S.A. at the 1920 Olympics and captained the hockey team that year.
Synott also skated with the Boston Maples and Arena Hockey Club. He became a U.S. citizen in 1918 and later worked as a printer for the Boston Herald newspaper. He died in Boston in 1945 at the age of 53.
In 2018, Synott was inducted to the City of Miramichi Sports Hall of Fame in the pioneer category.
Astle was born in Stanley and grew up in Holtville. She has mentored countless athletes throughout rural and central New Brunswick. She has received the Order of New Brunswick and Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contributions to sports.
A former paramedic who also taught for 37 years, Astle has been a volunteer rules official and board member with the New Brunswick Golf Association and, previously, the New Brunswick Ladies Golf Association. She’s also been the junior development director and president of Golf New Brunswick and a rules official for provincial tournaments, Golf Canada, and PGA of Canada events.
Astle plays at the nine-hole Old Mill Pond Golf & Country Club in Doaktown and has been the club’s president. She led Golf New Brunswick through the COVID-19 pandemic and launched its new strategic plan and brand identity. In 2022, she received the Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award from Golf Canada.
Astle was a softball pitcher and played first base before switching to golf. As a teacher, she led the basketball, volleyball, softball, and badminton teams at Upper Miramichi Regional High School in Boiestown. She also spent three years as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.
Bourque, who died in 2021, was once Canada’s most decorated armwrestler. He won 26 World Armwrestling Federation championship medals, including six gold.
During a 43-year athletic career, Bourque won tournaments in 10 provinces and on five continents. He was also a distance runner who founded Grand-Digue’s first 15-kilometre race and was active in cross country, soccer, and ball hockey from a young age. Since his death, the Miramichi River Runners club’s annual one-mile race has been named in his memory.
Bourque was inducted into the Canadian Armwrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.
Chase, an expert marksman, has won the Grand Aggregate title and participated in 23 national championship events. He’s a two-time Canadian Full Bore Champion and has coached provincial and national teams. He’s also been inducted into the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association Hall of Fame.
Bowness retired in May as the National Hockey League’s longest-serving coach. He spent 2,726 games behind the bench, including 803 as head coach of the original and current Winnipeg Jets franchises and the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, and Dallas Stars between the 1988-89 and 2023-24 seasons.
As a player, Bowness spent nine seasons with the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues. He was the first coach of the American Hockey League’s Moncton Hawks franchise and the current iteration of the Senators, who joined the NHL in 1992 as an expansion team.
Bowness was nominated for the Jack Adams Award for the NHL’s top coach during his stint with the present-day Jets. He led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
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