Bill Ryan in his workshop. Photo: Taken from Bill’s Facebook profile.
They have all come out of his hands. It has no employees. He spends it day and night in front of the lathe in the basement of his house, an hour’s drive from the Canadian city of Ottawa, in a “very quiet” field site, he says.
He also says that over the past 12 months, he has spent more time with bats than with his wife Nora, to whom he has been married for more than four decades.
At 67, Bill Ryan knows more about sports equipment than any major league home runner., although it is not considered a “professional manufacturer”, according to comments via Facebook.
“I retired from the auto sales business a couple of years ago; Today I work full time on other things, like making bats, ”he says. In little more than a decade, it has already had 3 634 bats manufactured, and in times of COVID-19 it has accelerated its production.
“During this unusual pandemic year I made 1 009. Too many for an old man. Normally it would make 100 or 200 ”, he says this, puts a laughing emoji and then a photo of the shipment ready to transport.
A shipment of 336 bats should arrive by air next Sunday in Havana. “In November we sent 320, and 300 in August. Gerardo takes care of everything there in Cuba. We always disinfect them. Write to him, he knows this better than I do, he taught me to do them. Now that everything is loaded, I have a beer ”, he confesses to us through Facebook.
“The Five were introduced to us in March 2009 and in December we met Adriana in Havana. It was the first time I spoke to Gerardo on the phone. We started writing to each other and he asked me to make special trophies for Industriales and Pedro Medina, his idol.
A few months later, he asked me if I could make bats for Industriales. I did, but they weren’t very good. With Adriana’s help, we talked to the players and the bats improved. I finally heard that the players were using them. The Cuban embassy in Ottawa would send bats to Havana for us and Adriana would deliver them ”. (Bill Ryan)
The history of the bats, told by Gerardo
The history of the bats brought these two families together. Photo: Taken from Bill’s Facebook profile.
“Bill was a car salesman, but he lives in rural Canada, where maple syrup (maple syrup) is produced. Also, very good wood comes out of that tree, ”says Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, Hero of the Republic of Cuba and national coordinator of the CDRs.
“He has a lathe in his house and how hobby he made ornamental bats; I even registered them. He wrote to me when I was in prison in the United States because he wanted to give some to our relatives.
“Thus, we started a relationship by letter and we began to conceive several things, among them, in wood, the logo of the Five, which I had designed previously.
“In Havana there are many places, such as the house of the combatant, in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución; the headquarters of the children’s company La Colmenita, etc., where they have plates that at that time, I designed in prison and Bill made them out of wood and sent them to Cuba.
“We continued that way for a while until one day an article came out in Cubadebate talking about Despaigne’s home run record and the credit he had for the poor quality of the bats in Cuba. That motivated me to find out if Bill could hit bats to use in the National Series.
“I consulted Pedro Medina, then manager of Industriales. Since they told us yes, the first thing Bill asked me was to design a logo and a name. This is how Cubacan emerged, with that logo that is the maple leaf above and the map of Cuba below. Bill has all the originals made in prison.
“Since the 50 National Series, champion teams have been awarded a trophy bat. In 2013, personalized messages were also sent to the most prominent national team players.
“Since my return to Cuba, everything has been easier. On more than one occasion, the players have shown agreement with the quality of the bats.
The Cubacan project today
Encouraging the love of baseball, from the lower categories, has always been one of the objectives of the Cubacan project. Photo: Courtesy of Gerardo Hernández.
“Today the project is much more than our bats. Last year a container full of sports equipment for children arrived, which was delivered to the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), ”continues Hernández Nordelo, a fan of baseball and the Industriales group.
“This season our bats have been played. They have the logo of the National Series 60 and the 60th anniversary of the CDR.
“It fills me with pride, because the Industriales players have come to my house to look for them. I took bats to Pinar del Río a few days ago. I also sent the teams from Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas –with Sotomayor–, and also those distributed by Inder.
Solidarity and love for sport
Ryan relates that when Gerardo returned to Cuba, after being released from prison in the United States after years of international campaigning and efforts for his release and that of his four companions, his work changed.
“We spent two years collecting and sending equipment to the sports industry so that bats could be made in Cuba. We also found good quality Canadian maple for them.
“Our second project was the collection of children’s sports equipment for Cuba. In December 2019, we shipped 2.5 tons of equipment. In January 2020, we met with the president of Inder and discussed the challenges posed by the US blockade on Cuba. Then COVID-19 came along and, you know, things got a lot worse. “
Soon after, in May 2020, the Canadian activist approached the Canadian Network on Cuba (CND).
“They agreed to help raise money to send bats to Cuba. They collected more than $ 33,000. I can make them, but without your help I couldn’t pay all the costs.
“It is very important to point out that this is not the only project they have carried out. In 2020 they raised more than $ 50,000 to support Cuba’s fight against COVID-19. They have just launched a second campaign to raise another $ 50,000. They are amazing people ”.
From 2010 to date, Bill has hit 3,634 bats. Photo: Taken from Bill’s Facebook profile.
The bats have legal dimensions and are the only ones designed with barbed wire. Photo: Taken from Bill’s Facebook profile.
A new shipment is due to arrive in Havana next Sunday. Photo: Taken from Bill’s Facebook profile.
