Urlacher will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame
Neil Urlacher was born on April 20, 1937 in Macklin, Saskatchewan, the youngest of 15 children. The family made their home on the family farm near Denzil. Sports was a significant part of the Urlacher family. Neil played baseball, hockey, volleyball and curling in school. In 1955 he attended St. Thomas College in North Battleford, where he played baseball, hockey and football. In 1959 Neil moved to Neilburg where he played baseball with the Neilburg Monarch in the North Saskatchewan Baseball League. Here he met and married Doris Wagner. They had four children, Cindy, Darwin, Regan and Carson.
Neil played a total of sixteen [16] seasons from 1960 until he retired in 1976, with the Neilburg Monarchs. During this time, Neil’s passion was baseball. He played in the outfield and was a sure glove on the defensive side, but dominated as a batter. After his sixteen year career with the Monarchs, he ended with an impressive .325 batting average, having led in many offensive categories during that time. In 1960 he tied first with Art Stone for most home runs during the season.
In 1961, when the Monarchs won the title, Neil finished amongst the leaders with a .356 batting average.
In 1962, his batting average was .344 and was the individual standout winning the slugging championship with a .667 slugging percentage. He also led the league with 62 total bases, 7 home runs, 32 RBI’s and tied with John Ford and Ken Nelson for the most base hits at 32.
In 1963, Neil led the regular league season with 27 runs, 66 total bases, 8 home runs and 23 RBI’s, tied for first with 33 hits alongside Jim Wiley. Neil was an All Star game player in 1963.
In 1964 he led the league with 14 doubles. Opposing teams began to recognize Neil’s hitting abilities and started pitching around him. Neil was, again, an All Star player, helping win the game by belting a home run.
In 1965 and 1966 Neil showed his patience at the plate by leading the League with 27 walks. In 1965 Neil was called upon as a replacement player by the Unity Cardinals in their series final against the North Battleford Beavers. Unity won 7-4 with Neil hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning.
In 1969 Neil placed second in the batting race, finishing the year with a .372 batting average behind Rich Householder with an average of .403. In 1970 he tied for second in the League with 10 doubles. Over the course of the 1960’s, Neil racked up 19 stolen bases.
With a strong arm in the field, speed running bases and being a very powerful hitter, Neil Urlacher was a great baseball player!
After retiring from competitive baseball, Neil decided to give back to the community by coaching his son in the minor hockey leagues then later the senior league teams. Neil felt that home runs and goals were the fun part of the game but the true aspect of sport is the people and the friendships made over the years. Neil now resides in Okotoks, Alberta.
