2006 Inductees

Craig P. Prall

It started at the age of three, tagging along with dad, the school physical education teacher, to the school gymnasium and the arena. From jumping on the gym mats and rolling around the basketballs, Craig came to become an accomplished hockey and fastball player. His minor hockey career began as a forward, but when he discovered he could play on two teams, if he joined the other team as the goaltender, the love of tending the nets began. For a number of years Craig continued to alternate between goaltending and forward. His goaltending career blossomed in high school backstopping the West King team to the provincial semifinals in 1979/80.

In 1980/81 he began his junior hockey career with the Kentville Wildcats leading the league in minutes played by a goaltender in that year and the following one. In 1982/83 he joined the Halifax Junior Lions. The Junior Lions had a great year winning the league and provincial titles and winning the Callaghan Cup as Atlantic Champions.

The Callaghan Cup gave the Lions the opportunity to play for the Centennial Cup. The Lions lost a hard fought battle to the North York Rangers who went on to claim the Centennial Cup and National Championship.

Prall was instrumental in the Lion's run winning the team MVP award and the top goaltender of the Metro Valley Junior League that year. "He's turned this club around," said Coach Jim Bottomley. "He's getting stronger as time goes on and has been one of the main reasons for our big success."

Craig's hockey career did not stop at Junior. In 1983/84 he played with the Dalhousie Tigers Varsity Team. After graduation he moved to Yarmouth where he won a Provincial Senior "C" Hockey Championship in 1985 while being named the MVP of the playoffs.

In 1979, his fastball accomplishments began as a teenager when he earned a spot on the Berwick Eassons finishing second in batting with a .396 average and being named Rookie of the Year. In 1980, he played for the West Kings High School Fastball Team where he was named MVP of the team.

In 1982 he was still a junior and joined the newly formed Waterville Juniors. He captured the league batting title with an impressive .433 in the highly competitive Valley Fastball League.

He moved to senior ball the next two seasons with the ACA Raiders out of Kentville. In 1983 he won the league batting title with a .361 average. He was selected to the all-star team for two seasons in a row.

Craig continued to play fastball in Yarmouth, Dartmouth, and Bermuda. In 1995 he rejoined the Eassons for one final season of competitive ball.

As had his father before him, Craig next turned his attention to coaching both hockey and baseball. Craig now joins his father, John Prall, in the Berwick Sports Hall of Fame.

Inducted June 2006