Calgary Herald Saturday, October 5, 2002
Friends, family mourn stellar baseball prospect

Young Albertan killed in crash near Lethbridge
Sorcha McGinnis
Justin Cardinal will be remembered as more than just a number.
The semi-pro baseball player - and one of the top pitchers in the country - died Sept. 28, one week after signing a contract with the Calgary Dawgs.
At Cardinal’s funeral in Villeneuve, just outside Edmonton, on Thursday, grieving teammates presented to parents and brothers the No. 54 jersey he wore for three big-hitting seasons.
“He was a kid who got to live his dream, but not long enough,” said John Ircandia, general manager of the Calgary Dawgs Baseball Club.
Cardinal, 20, had been visiting his girlfriend in Lethbridge, when his car collided with a semi-trailer.
Police say he was travelling northbound on Highway 23 and fell asleep at the wheel.
“He was heading toward greater things,” said William Gardner, president of the Dawgs. We feel we not only lost a player and a teammate, but an outstanding young man.”
The right-handed pitcher - known by teammates as the “gentle giant” for his towering height and kind demeanor - had just started his first year at Mesa Community College in Arizona, where he’d earned a scholorship to play ball. The Bonnyville native had returned to Alberta for a grandparent’s funeral.
During high school, Cardinal played with Team Alberta, and in 1999 at the Canada Cup in Trois Rivieres, Que., where he was picked as one of the top junior pitchers in Canada.
He spent a year on scholarship in Midland, Tex., but came home last year to sharpen his skills at the Praire Baseball Academy in Lethbridge. Last summer, he joined Washington state’s Bellingham Bells.
When the Dawgs announced in September they’d be playing in the Western Major Baseball League, Cardinal - who’d played with the team’s youth division – leapt at the chance to join professional-prospect status players.
“We were really looking forward to him being part of the club next year,” said Gardner.
Denis Gagne, 17, knew Cardinal from Notre Dame Senior High School in Bonnyville, and remembers him as a popular and “funny guy.”
“He had quite a few friends here,” said Gagne, who grew up with Cardinal’s brother, Tyler.
Gagne last saw Cardinal in June, when the latter was on a break from a hectic practice schedule.
“He was always on top of his game.”
Ircndia said Cardinal was voted most valuable player in 2001, the same year the Dawgs won the under-21 junior provincial championships.
In the past week, Ircandia has received dozens of telephone calls from players demanding Cardinal’s number be retired.
The Dawgs have since retired the No. 54 uniform. Next spring, they’ll attach the special number to their caps.
The Bells have retired No. 28 from their team.
Cardinal’s dad and biggest fan will throw the first pitch at both opening games. As well, a scholarship to the Lethbridge baseball academy has been renamed in honour of Cardinal.
“It’s just a small token, but we felt it was something we could do,” said Gardner.
Cardinal is survived by his parents, Fred and Jeanette, and three younger brothers, who live in Bonnyville.