Aug. 09, 2017
Jim Dean has been involved in baseball in Ottawa since the age of 8 when he played in Carlingwood Little League. In 1989 he became president of the Ottawa Recreational Baseball League. A year later, he engineered its merger with the Senior Interprovincial Baseball League, to form what is still the National Capital Baseball League. He remained as President of the NCBL for the 1990-1993 seasons. In 1993 he became a game-day employee of the Ottawa Lynx, running the Scoreboard Room for all 15 Lynx seasons. Also in 1993, he founded the local Ontario Baseball Association chapter, the National Capital Senior Baseball Association, and served as its Chairman for several years, including hosting the 1993 National Selects (U19) championship for Baseball Canada.
In 1995 he re-entered the Little League world as a coach and general all-around volunteer, until 2005 when he accepted the position of District Administrator for Ontario District 2 (West Ottawa), a position he continues to hold. He served as Vice-President of Little League Ontario from 2006 through 2008, then as President from 2009 through 2016. He also represented Ontario on Little League Canada’s Board of Directors from 2012 to 2016. In 2014, at Little League International’s Congress (held every 4 years), Jim was recognized with their Meritorious Service Award. In 2023 he was elected to the Little League International Board of Directors, serving as a Field Director.
Although principally an exceptionally photogenic “baseball guy”, he has a passion for amateur sports that has led him to join the Board of the Ottawa Awards.