WINNING COMBINATION 20 +YEARS....AND COUNTING!!!
   By Jody Jewers (Sports reporter with the Daily News)

It wasn’t their first name, and it might not be their last, but when you think of Dartmouth teams in the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League, you can't help but think Moosehead Dry. Moosehead Breweries will begin its 26th year as title sponsor of the Dartmouth franchise in 2014, and in an era where corporate dollars are increasingly hard to come by for sports teams, Moosehead remains committed to keeping senior baseball alive and well in the City of Lakes. “I know a lot of the guys personally, and I’ve always been very close to the team,” said Moosehead sales rep Danny O’Hearn, a past-president of the club. “They came to me some 20 years ago, and I thought at the time it was a good fit for our company since we’re based in Dartmouth, and it’s been a good fit ever since.” Dartmouth was a charter member of the NSSBL in 1977 as the Indians, and lasted three seasons, reaching the playoffs once. In 1986, the team re-emerged as the Arrows, with that name sticking until 1989. In those four years, Dartmouth also made the playoffs just one time. As the Moosehead Dry, Dartmouth has enjoyed an unparalleled run of success. The Dry were the team of the 1990s, with eight Nova Scotia titles and medals at four national championships, including gold in 1998. “I’ve been to six nationals with these guys,” said O’Hearn. “They even flew me out to Vancouver with them one year. They’ve always been a first-class group who are committed to winning and being professional in their approach. “As a sponsor, you want to look for people who fit the image we want to project, and it’s not just about selling beer. It’s a two-way street — they have a good image in the baseball community and that reflects well on the Moosehead name.” Nine current or former members of the Dry — Joel Irvine, Trevor Zwaan, Darren Doucette, Steve Nelson, Jamie Vallis, Joel Young , Matt McDonald,Craig Langille, and Luis Roberts — have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams. Since Moosehead became the team’s title sponsor, Dartmouth has never failed to reach the playoffs. “There’s no question in my mind that this team, probably the 1998 version, will someday be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame,” said O’Hearn. “That would be the ultimate honor for us as a company, to be associated with something like that. Any time you put your name on something, you want to see it be successful. Everyone wants to be known as a winner, and they’ve proven themselves to be the best year in and year out. We’ve been very fortunate to have had a great relationship with them, and hopefully for many more years to come.”