Unofficially, Parkway 2 field has been named Mullins Field, in honour of the late Scott Mullins.
Mullins, who died of a heart-related problem in October 2013, is considered one of the best slo pitch players ever Penticton had. Mullins’ friend and longtime teammate Craig Denton said it was a group of Mullins’ teammates who came up with the idea for the name change, which is shown on schedules for the mixed leagues on the Penticton Slo Pitch website. Denton said the reason for doing it is because of how good a player and person Mullins was. With Denton, Mullins won a national championship at the B level in 2004 in Calgary. Denton said that is the highest level for the sport.
“He really was one of the best players to ever play out of Penticton,” said Denton. “Scott was just a guy that everyone loved him. He really was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He loves everybody. He fit in with everybody. He competed at a high level and did so with still being everybody’s friend.”
Denton contacted the city regarding having the field name changed, but was told the property belongs to the Okanagan Skaha School District and that the city would contact them. He was told it wouldn’t be a quick process as there are procedures that need to be followed. The city has indicated that the school board needs to receive an application.
In the meantime, the Penticton Slo Pitch board decided they were in favour of making the name change unofficialy.
There is also a tournament organized by the Smoking Aces scheduled in his honour in Penticton from April 25-27. The entry fee is $350. The tournament is being capped to 16 teams and there is space for three more. The tournament contact is Chris Atkins at 250-488-5161 and his email is chrisatkins@live.ca. Atkins said that all the proceeds from the tournament is going to Mullins’ family, while partial proceeds from the beer gardens will also go to the family.
“It should be a fun tournament,” said Atkins.
