In his time, Eddie Gillis was considered one of the best all-around athletes to come out of Cape Breton. Although Eddie starred in most sports, it was in baseball that he excelled.

He was born in New Waterford and grew up with the Cape Breton Colliery League and the Cape Breton Senior Hockey League (two of the finest leagues in Canada), and the famous Caledonia rugby team. Eddie played in all the best leagues in Nova Scotia.

In 1933, he began his senior career when he played baseball at the age of 15 with the New Waterford team of the Colliery League and he contributed much to his team. In 1936 the Colliery League became professional. Despite stiff competition and the outstanding calibre of baseball, Eddie managed to make the team as a second baseman. In 1938, he led the New Waterford team to the Maritime title.

Eddie played for the Kentville Wildcats of the H&D League in 1948. He has since coached baseball in Kentville, Halifax, and Cape Breton. The St. Louis Cardinals recognized his ability as a coach and named him their scout for the Maritime provinces.

Annual Program

A builder par excellence in the Kentville area was Eddie Gillis. He developed the minor baseball program there starting in 1947 when he arrived on the scene to play with Kentville Wildcats of the Halifax and District Baseball League. In the same year, he became the first ever physical education teacher at Kings County Academy.

His coaching success at KCA is etched in the record books of school sport historians. Baseball, hockey, basketball and rugby trophies won by Gillis’ teams fill the cases at KCA.

He didn’t stop there though. Eddie guided many amateur teams from bantam to senior to provincial, Maritime and national championships.

A Kentville resident says of Gillis — ‘”Since he arrived in Kentville, very few of our children have been involved in any trouble, thanks to Eddie keeping them busy, winter and summer.”