JIM KERNAGHAN, Free Press Sports Columnist

A fter establishing some unbreakable records in the Intercounty Baseball League, Arden Eddie contributed his final one yesterday. Leading the league in near-sales, the London Majors owner finally pulled the trigger, ending a 37-year run as player, manager and owner of the team when he turned over the reins to mortgage broker Scott Dart.

The Majors have been on the market the last few years.

Near-sales, aborted sales, sales in which the buyer unfortunately had no money -- it never happened, until yesterday.

Eddie, who toiled 20 years in the outfield and 10 at first base, almost seemed shocked himself at the news conference. The only time anyone can recall him being near tears was when a fabulous prospect got away.

Some wondered why Eddie, like Ahab chasing the whale, battled on through obstacles that included three competing franchises the past decade at Labatt Park, endless municipal cold shoulders and a constant struggle for fans. A look into his background may help.

Present at yesterday's function was his 82-year-old mother, Joy. It was only seven years ago that she was on life-support and somebody suggested the plug be pulled.

No, Eddie insisted.

She was the picture of good health yesterday, smiling with one of her son's medals around her neck.

She still drives.

Maybe the perception he's been on a free ride goes farther back, Eddie suggests.

His mother's father died seven months before she was born. His own father was an only child born to a father at 61 and a mother who was 46.

Baseball people are numbers guys. The way Eddie figures it, a couple of numbers each way by his antecedents and he's not even here.

Numbers, aside from the number of times he nearly sold the team, dominate the 37-year Eddie dynasty.

His 600-plus walks are about 400 ahead of the player in second place. Same with his RBIs, which he notes wryly it took him 27 seasons to pass a player who accomplished it in nine campaigns.

There are dozens of unofficial records. It's not likely anyone will be owner/manager/player, especially one who can pinch-run and steal a base and score the winning run, as he did a few years back.

"Some will never be broken but only because nobody will ever play that long," he points out.

Eddie, whose best year at the bat came when he was 47, is the first to tell you he was not a star. He didn't have to say what his strength really was because it's so obvious.

He loved the game and stuck to it. Once, when discussing an ejection from a game in the fifth inning, the Wallaceburg native touched on the four innings he missed as ones he'd never get back.

He spoke of enjoying centre field because it was there that he was better able to witness some great plays over the years.

His wife, Shelley, and daughter, Ashley, were along all the way.

When Eddie got his 700th hit, he got the ball and ran it over to his parents in the stands. After he took his last at-bat two years ago in Hamilton, he immediately handed the bat to Ashley.

What now? Oh, he'll drop by the park, he says. He'll be around to advise new owner Dart if needed. And he'll keep his No. 24 jersey.

His wife says he's a pretty creative guy and might seek new pursuits.

Creative is the word.

Competitors came and competitors went. Eddie's fertile imagination kept his franchise standing in the end.