Jimmy Rattlesnake

Jimmy Rattlesnake was born in Hobbema, AB in 1909 as a member of the Ermineskin Cree First Nation. He became the best First Nations baseball player of his era in Canada, playing in top amateur and semi-pro leagues all over western Canada in the 1930s and 1940s. A pitcher, he developed a type of knuckleball he called the "sawdust ball" that was his signature pitch. He was scouted by some pro teams, but did not want to exile himself too far from his home. He did play against several barnstorming teams of major leaguers, however.

He died on April 17, 1972, in his home town.

In 2021, he was inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as part of a large class of Canadian baseball pioneers. He was the first First Nations member to be inducted in the Canadian Hall of Fame.