The London Tecumsehs are Canada’s first “major league” international baseball champions. Formed in 1868, the Tecumsehs won the International Association pennant in the league’s first season in 1877. They defeated the Alleghenies of Pittsburgh, and their future Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin, in the championship game at their new park, Tecumseh Park. Some of the Tecumseh players included Fred Goldsmith, Joe Hornung, Phil Powers, Ed Somerville and Herm Doscher. The championship was Canada’s first, and only, on the international stage at baseball’s highest level, until the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992. The Tecumsehs’ achievement has received reduced attention because there is debate about the International Association’s major league status. Tecumseh Park was built specifically to house the team and exists to this day as Labatt Park. It is the world’s oldest continuous use ballpark.
Photo courtesy of Illustrated London
