Baseball, Athlete, 2023 |
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Donald Gurniak, who has lived in Coquitlam since 1958, started with Coquitlam Little League in 1961. That was the beginning of 45 years on baseball diamonds, with accolades at every stage of his playing career, including: multiple all-star honours as a child, teenager and adult; selection to provincial teams; gold medals in the Canada Games and Canadian championships at the junior and senior levels; and six league and tournament MVP awards.
Gurniak signed a professional contract with Major League Baseball’s Montreal Expos in 1970 and briefly played for the Watertown Expos of the Northern League. He retired from playing in 2006, but not before competing in an over-30s men’s league, where his teams won five championships in seven years.
Gurniak also ran catching and battling clinics, and shared his knowledge as a coach with Coquitlam Little League, whose 13/14-year-old all-stars he guided to 1999 BC and Canadian championship victories as well as a fourth-place finish in the age group World Series. His mark on baseball in Coquitlam is felt to this day as he was integral to construction of new baseball facilities at Mackin and Blue Mountain parks.