when they chose to name this team the gold eyes management hearkened back to a golden era 1954-64 a time when the class a gold eyes captured the imaginations of Winnipeg's Discerning baseball public definitely true it was a an Age of Innocence when the hero worship was there but these people were on a par with the public as far as the money they were making and the accessibility to the community so they did have the golden years of support during that time the gold eyes won the northern League pennant three times but folded when their parent Club the St Louis Cardinals dropped the franchise professional baseball was revived in 1970 when the Montreal Expos placed their AAA farm team the whips in Winnipeg but that team lasted just two years burdened by a deal that had them paying the travel costs of all of their International League opponents because Winnipeg was so remote the travel costs for the AAA Club in Winnipeg that year were greater than any major league club because you were paying for every one of the visiting teams and it was only a and Mr brompman and the Expos thought well this will be for one year and then we'll try to get into the the American Association Wichita Tulsa Omaha Geographic they suited to us but that didn't work but Winnipeg kept trying to get back into pro baseball an effort led by businessman Sam case we are still going to continue speaking to a few of the owners trying to round up the necessary votes it takes to get approval and finally he got it filling a 23-year baseball void in Winnipeg Summers with the gold eyes they're in the northern League again but this time it's unaffiliated baseball a double a circuit of Young Turks and old boys on the way up or on the way out a league that prompted the movie Bull Durham [Music] so how's it feel to get your first professional Win It Feels out there it's a major rush I mean it doesn't just feel out there I mean it feels out there this team there are players like gold eyes rookie infieler Alex gagan trusty book of motivational phrases and hand it to me in the locker room it's always too soon to quit see now now I'm going to start smoking again there's something easy going about baseball players their objective though is to win ball games and move up in the Pro ranks but in the process Winnipeg can bask in the glow a baseball missed for 23 years