SYDNEY, N.S. -- Legendary Cape Breton baseball coach Henry Boutilier has won just about every Little League trophy you can imagine.

But now, life itself has thrown the 67-year-old a curveball.

“Apparently, it spread like wildfire that I have Stage 4 liver cancer, and it doesn’t look good right now,” says Boutilier. “But like they say, you just keep fighting everyday and hope for the best.”

Boutilier has been manager of the Glace Bay Colonels for more than 40 years and was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

He started in the dugout in 1979 and has led the nationally-renowned team to five Canadian titles, along with several trips to the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. 

“It was a community effort,” says the modest Boutilier. “It was all the people who were involved in Glace Bay Little League at the time. We put in a lot of hours, a lot practice, and it worked.”

This isn’t the Boutilier family’s first battle with the disease. Cancer took the life of his oldest daughter several years ago.

“We’ve already been through it. Our oldest passed away with breast cancer, so we’ve already fought this battle before,” says Boutilier.

Word has spread quickly about the legendary coach’s grim diagnosis, and already the Glace Bay community has rallied around him.

“Henry Boutilier has been synonymous with sport in Glace Bay forever,” says James Edwards, president of the Glace Bay Minor Hockey Association.

While he is best known for his work on the ball field, Boutilier also spent many nights at the local rink, and will be honoured there this weekend.

“Glace Bay Minor Hockey Association is going to have a return to the forum. We’re going to have our first draw there on that day,” explains Edward.

Boutilier says he is humbled by all his attention, but feels he’s not down to his final out just yet. His dream is to see his grandson in a Colonels uniform one day.

“I was planning on coaching for another little while. At least to see my youngest grandson play ball, and I wanted to see him graduate from high school, that kind of thing,” says Boutilier.

Boutilier says he’s always told his players not to give up, and now he’s taking his own advice, off the field.