Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

SABR-BIO PROJECT HALL OF FAMER STEVE ROGERES

Scott — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:29:23 +0000

This article was written by Norm King.

For many people, Steve Rogers is the guy who gave up the game-winning home run to Rick Monday in the 1981 National League Championship Series. However, to think of him for just that one pitch does a disservice to a player who was a five-time all-star, an ERA leader, and the ace of the excellent Montreal Expos teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Stephen Douglas Rogers, the eldest of six children, was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, the state capital, on October 26, 1949, to Doug and Connie Rogers. His father was a dentist. His parents had specific plans for having a family but ended up having three children by the time they intended to have one. “Planning wasn’t their forte, let’s put it that way,” Rogers said.i

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WIN TWO CHANCES TO PLAY BALL IN THE TEAM WHITT VS TEAM JENKINS CELEBRITY GAME

Scott — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:10:52 +0000

Celebrity Softball game on Thursday, June 21st at 7pm on Rotary Field at the Hall of Fame.

In 2009 Larry Walker took one deep over the right field fence and just last year Tony Fernandez slashed a double and scored on the next base hit. Imagine rounding the bases with Larry Walker or driving in Tony Fernandez with a single! Purchase a ticket for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Draw Date: Saturday, June 16 at 4pm at the Hall of Fame

Prizes:

1st- play with celebrity team of your choice
2nd- play with other celebrity team
3rd – Two 2nd row seats at the Induction Ceremony
4th – Two 2nd row seats at the Induction Ceremony
5th – autographed Rusty Staub baseball

Info or tickets: 519-284-1838 or baseball@baseballhalloffame.ca

Tickets also available: Hall of Fame office (140 Queen St) & Baseball Museum (386 Church St. S.), Hall of Fame Board Members, Dunny’s Source for Sports & M&M Variety in St. Marys.

Tickets: $10 each or 3 for $20 ONLY 200 TICKETS!

Celebrities include 2012 Inductees Ernie Whitt, Rheal Cormier, Doug Melvin, and Team Canada Coaches Greg Hamilton (voted #1 Baseball person in Canada), Dave Blatz, Tim Leiper, Keith Sanford and Team Canada player Mike Johnson (former Montreal Expo), plus Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Steve Rogers, Jim Fanning, and Adam Stern (MLB), Billy Atkinson (MLB), Derek Aucoin (MLB), John Upham (MLB), Bruce Hood (NHL), Linda Tosetti (Babe Ruth’s Granddaughter), and Miss Canada International.

HALL OF FAMER JIMMY ARCHER

Scott — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:09:51 +0000

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Jimmy Archer moved with his family to Montreal as a baby and relocated to Toronto when he was three. At age 20, the young catcher made his professional baseball debut in Fargo, North Dakota. The following year in Boone, Iowa, he would hit .299, convincing the Pittsburgh Pirates to purchase his contract and insert him in their lineup that September.

Serving primarily as a backup catcher, Archer’s next big league assignment was with the Detroit Tigers in 1907. After participating in just 18 games in the regular season, the rifle-armed Canadian was summoned to thwart the Cubs running attack in Game 5 of the World Series. Archer did throw out speedy Cubs outfielder Jimmy Slagle, but the Cubs still won the game and later the series.

Read more HERE.

VOTT’S SLAM MAKES REDS WALK-OFF WINNERS

Scott — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:01:41 +0000

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI — When your fans have stuck it out through a three-hour and 36-minute rain delay before the game even starts, and then watch a nearly four-hour game, the best thing a team can do is make it worth the wait.

The remnants of the 28,361 waterlogged fans at Great American Ball Park who let Mother’s Day dinner go by the wayside can testify that it was. It was Joey Votto who made it so with a three home run game, but none was more important than the grand slam that had the Reds walking off with a dramatic 9-6 come-from-behind victory.

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LITTLE FALLS EVENING AT THE HALL OF FAME

Scott — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:51:42 +0000

CASH BBQ ! BASEBALL GAMES ! CONTESTS ! TOURS ! CELEBRITIES !

On Friday, May 11th the Hall of Fame is hosting St. Marys’ Little Falls Public School at the Hall of Fame. The premier St. Marys Cement Company Field will be filled with laughter and excitement as kids from Jr. Kindergarten up to Grade 6 enjoy a fun night of activities, ballgames, contests, museum tours, celebrities, and a delicious (CASH) BBQ.

The Museum at the Hall of Fame is open free of charge to all Little Falls students and their families from 4-8pm. The games start at 5pm with a whirlwind of activity for the first hour as three games will take place on the Cement field at the same time. JK, SK and Grade 1′s will play their game in centerfield, the Grade 2′s and 3′s will team up and play in leftfield, and the Grade 4′s and 5′s will play on the infield.

“Even if you can’t arrive by 5pm, get here when you can and join in the games” says Hall of Fame’s Scott Crawford

After this exciting hour, former Montreal Expos star pitcher Billy Atkinson will chat with the kids and then all kids are invited to participate in the skills contests which include timed base running, strike throwing and the famous “chuck-a-ball”.

Starting at 6:30pm is the premier game everybody has been waiting for as the Grade 6 students compete for bragging rights against LFS staff. Before this game we will have a Ceremonial First Pitch and the LFS Choir will be singing O’ Canada and Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

Don’t forget to taste our delicious BBQ cooking from 5-8pm and watch for celebrities on site that night!

So make sure you bring the whole family to the Hall of Fame on May 11th for Little Falls Evening at the Hall of Fame. If you have any questions please call 519-284-1838 or email baseball@baseballhalloffame.ca

HALL OF FAMER GEORGE “KNOTTY” LEE

Scott — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:50:03 +0000

A true Canadian baseball pioneer, Knotty Lee devoted close to 50 years to the game as a player, manager, scout and league organizer. The Toronto native earned his nickname when his father noticed his spitball twisting and knotting towards home plate. Starting in 1896, Lee excelled as a left-handed hurler with the Toronto Athletic Club. He would also play in the New York State League (1899 to 1901), the New England League (1902 to 1906) and the Empire State League (1907).

In 1911, the determined Canuck was the architect of the Canadian League, the first professional baseball circuit in his country’s history. He would manage teams in Hamilton (1911 to 1913), Toronto (1914) and Guelph (1915) in that seminal circuit. In 1919, he would organize the Class B Michigan-Ontario League, where he was the fiery dugout boss with Brantford (1919, 1920) and London (1925). In 1921 and 1922, he served as business manager for the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. During this time, he also marketed his own brand of baseball glove called the “Knotty Lee Special.”

Read more HERE.

HALL OF FAMER ALLAN ROTH

Scott — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:47:27 +0000

My father’s induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is a great thrill for my mother, and a huge honour for our entire family, and we will be proud to participate in St. Marys” said Allan’s son Michael from his home in Los Angeles.

“We are well aware that baseball has a very long and rich history in Canada. My dad was baseball’s pre-eminent statistician, working with the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers, but he originally fell in love with baseball as a child in Montreal and enjoyed seeing the Royals when he could. As a young man, he was thrilled watching the exploits of a young infielder named Jackie Robinson, and my father joined the Dodgers organization in 1947, the very same year that Jackie broke the colour barrier. My father then went on to a 45-year career working in Major League Baseball, but it all started in Canada.”

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MELVIN, ROENICKE GET CONTRACT EXTENSIONS

Scott — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:39:08 +0000

By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

MILWAUKEE — The injury-battered Brewers sat in the National League Central cellar on Tuesday afternoon, a seemingly imperfect moment to announce multiyear contract extensions for general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ron Roenicke.

Or was it?

“There’s always going to be the fan who says, ‘Well, how could you extend those guys now?!’” principal owner Mark Attanasio said. “Well, it’s precisely now, precisely when you need calm, thoughtful leadership. Doug Melvin has had an enormous amount of success for us. Two playoffs in four years. People forget this team won only 56 games the year before he got here.

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HALL OF FAMER CLAUDE RAYMOND

Scott — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:43:45 +0000

It was another Canadian, Roland Gladu, who signed Claude Raymond to his first pro contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1955. After one season as a starting pitcher, the hard-throwing right-hander was converted to a reliever and spent four seasons in the Braves organization before he was claimed in a minor league draft by the Chicago White Sox. He would make his major league debut with the Sox on April 15, 1959.

After just four innings with Chicago, Raymond ended up back in the Braves organization. From 1961 to 1971, while playing with Milwaukee, Houston, Atlanta and Montreal, French Canadian moundsman evolved into one of the National League’s premier relief pitchers. He would finish in the top 10 in saves four times (1962, 1966, 1967, 1970) and earn an all-star selection in 1966.

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FORGOTTEN CANADIAN BASEBALL LEGEND’S SPIRITS LIVES ON

Scott — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:41:26 +0000

By: Kevin Glew

In Christopher Tunstall’s mind, Boston Red Sox fans never had to worry about the Curse of the Bambino.

No, according to the 49-year-old, Asheville, N.C., native, it wasn’t Babe Ruth that was responsible for the Beantowners’ 86-year championship drought that extended from 1918 to 2004, but rather his underappreciated, great-grandfather Joseph John (J.J.) Lannin.

Though his name remains foreign to most Red Sox faithful, Lannin, a Canadian who hailed from Lac-Beauport, Que., had an ownership stake in the team from 1913 to 1916 and is the only Sox proprietor to oversee back-to-back World Champion clubs.

Lannin also had the baseball savvy to purchase Ruth from the International League’s Baltimore Orioles and bring him to Boston in 1914, before subsequent owner Harry Frazee infamously sold the slugger to the Yankees prior to the 1920 campaign.

“I’ve always thought of it as the curse of J.J.,” said Tunstall at his great-grandfather’s induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in June 2004.

Read more HERE.