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Home , Baseball in Canada, Charlie Grimm, Chuck Klein, Claude Raymond, Dave Kingman, Dave McKay (baseball)

By Tony Parker 2005 Senior Championship- August 28-28th, 2005 Welcome to the web site of the 2005 Senior Baseball Championship. Baseball history doesn’t always have to be boring statistical analysis. This is a game that began somewhere in the early 1800’s and was increasingly documented after the first major professional league was founded in the in 1876 and Canada has been very much a part of that game as you will find below. In addition to this section we have also created a series of baseball trivia and informationals that will allow you to learn more about the game in what we hope is an entertaining fashion. As few boring stats as possible , because few of us are bookkeepers or accountants.

Foxy & Tip Marchildon Too

Canadian Baseball is alive and well and has contributed greatly to the Major League game, even if remains the only Canadian born player enshrined at Cooperstown. You may think that is the lone Canadian to win a Major League batting crown and if so, you would be wrong, but if you weren’t alive in 1887 then you didn’t see a Canadian lad named Tip O’Neill become the first ever crown winner in history or that legendary U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill was named after that same Canadian winner. And did you know that the first player to use a padded glove (Foxy Irwin), the first retired player to start broadcasting games on radio () and the first no-hitter recorded after the top players returned from service in WW II () were also Canadians? Graney also played in the same starting outfield with baseball legend as well as Hall of Fame player and batted behind in his final big league season when Cy was wrapping up his career record of 51 1 wins (Unquestionably baseball’s most unbreakable Major League mark). Our Yankee brethren would cry with false righteousness if they knew that the great poled his first professional home in a Canadian ball park, or that ’s bid to break the color barrier began in or worse yet that the first recorded game of baseball was played in 1838 in Beachville, , a full year before the first reported game in the United States. CANADA EH?

In baseball history, no bigger hole had to be filled than the 1935 release of Babe Ruth by the Yankees. The man given the job was one George ‘Twinkletoes’ Selkirk, a Canadian born player who would go on to win six rings with the Yankees, a feat no Canadian is likely ever to equal.

You know that Ferguson Jenkins is in the Hall of Fame, but did you know that no power in baseball history combined more with fewer walks, or that Fergie is one of only two quality Major Leaguers who also played with the (the other is , a fellow Hall-of-Famer).

Page 1 of 18 Jenkins is also the first Canadian baseball player to make the cover of (Aug. 1971), but did you know that he should have been beaten by a third-sacker named , whose mug was pulled from the presses to make room for Cassius Clay’s (Muhammad Ali) stunning heavyweight upset of Sonny Liston. Just bad timing for Pete, a rookie sensation with the White Sox whose father, Jimmy, had been a star in the Nationa1 Hockey League. Before Ward, an unheralded and all but forgotten Canadian named actually drew mention in Time Magazine when, in 1958, he was hitting .397 six-weeks into the season with the Tigers in a brief challenge to the greatness of .

When it comes to sports war heroes, Canada boasts one of the greatest in pitcher , from Penetanguishene, . Marchildon was a quality starter under baseball’s most storied ever, , and nobody came to cutting short Joe Dimaggio’s legendary 56 game of 1941. Marchildon, in his rookie season faced DiMaggio in game 46 and his sharp breaking ball had the Yankee Clipper grounding meekly his first three at bats, then with the streak on the line, the Clipper tomahawked a on a that Marchildon had fired a foot above the rather then groove a first strike. Go figure! Another Canadian was also involved prominently in the DiMaggio streak when Quebec native Joe Krakauskas gave up the final in DiMaggio’s legendary run of hitting in 56 straight games.

Marchildon joined the R.A.F. and was flying on a Halifax bomber at the dangerous tail-gunner position when the aircraft was down by a Messerschmidt 110 on his 26th mission while laying mines in the Atlantic. Marchildon bailed out and rescued the navigator, swimming for nearly three hours in the process. The rest of the bomber crew was lost and Marchildon sat out the duration of the war in a German prison camp.

Did you know that oudielder boasts the finest career ever at his position, not to mention hitting .545 in two appearances in the Championship series? Or that Penticton, B.C. born tossed a no-hitter for six in his 1958 Major League debut against the World Champion Yankees, and was 3-0 that year against the Yankees while playing as a late-season call-up by the Red Sox. A few years later, Bowsfield came the closest that a Canadian has ever come to a in the Majors, losing the bid on an 8th on a Vic Power .

Did you know that a Canadian stopper named was an integral part of perhaps the biggest World Series upset ever, when the shocked Baltimore in the 1969 Championship. Taylor played on World Series winners in St. Louis and New York and in 10 1/3 innings of work allowed just three hits and no runs. When his playing career was finished he would long be the team physician for the Blue Jays.

Page 2 of 18 Yet another Canadian, pitcher Kirk McCaskill, won over 100 Major League games after turning his back on a promising pro hockey career when he was named runner-up for the Hobey Baker award as the top college hockey player in the U.S. McCaskill had poster boy looks and graced the pages of Entertainment Magazine with other playboys such as , and during various publications. McCaskill also holds the strange distinction of being the man who gave up home runs in the same game to Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr., the only time a father and son have homered off the same pitcher in a Major League game.

A little known Nova Scotian named holds an organized baseball record that will never be broken. About the turn of the century he slugged eight homers in a single Texas League game in Texarcana. Clarke went on to play in the Majors where he caught games by the legendary Cy Young and became teammates with such other legends as Shoeless Joe Jackson, player-manager and pitcher . It was Clarke who would catch Hall of Famer Addie Joss when he threw the greatest perfect game ever recorded in regular league history. Joss dueled with fellow Famer in a 1-0 perfecto.

And let it not be said that Canadians lacked heart. In 1971 a reliever named suffered a severe stroke and had his career written off by all medical experts. Instead of giving up, Hiller passed up risky open heart surgery in favor of an experiment that would see seven feet of his large intestine removed. He would then go on to become Canada’s first great closer. No ever recorded more decisions in one season. In 1974 Hiller went 17- 14 in relief with 13 saves.

Baseball legend said in his autobiography that the greatest in his career came in 1965 against a reliever named . In that at bat Mays fouled off 17 pitches before hitting a homer. Raymond of course, was a Canadian who would also become the first Canuck to play for a Canadian based team when he played for the in 1969. He later became a broadcaster with the club. And then their was Frank ‘Blackie’ O’Rourke, who leads everyone with years in pro baseball. O’Rourke, who lived to 95 years of age, was 70 years in the game as a player, manager, or , including 30 years scouting for the powerhouse .

Let us not forget , a from 1936-49 who slugged 194 career homers, was an all-star in 1941 & 1943, in the top ten batting several times and scored the only run for when Feller pitched the only opening day no-hitter in history. Or how about Dave McKay, who is the only Canadian to homer in his first Major League at bat and the only Canadian on the inaugural Blue Jays. McKay would later gain strange fame as Mark McGwire’s personal batting practice pitcher en route to his memorable 70 homer season of 1998.

Page 3 of 18 Canada even had a Major League manager. Catcher, had a 413-344 record as a manager with three second place finishes, largely with . He helmed such Hall of Famers as Paul and , , Grover Cleveland Alexander and while his 1113 games catching with Pittsburgh was done with teammate .

And of course Larry Walker won consecutive batting titles in 1998 and 1999. He also became the first Canadian to homer in his first World Series at bat as well as go four-for-four in a World Series game. Walker is also the only Canadian with over 2,000 Major League hits and is one of the top 100 homerun hitters of all time. Canadians eh? BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

Fans at the 2005 Baseball Canada Senior Championship may also get to see another MLB Alumni in Vince Horsman. Horsman is a left hand pitcher from Dartmouth. N.S. who went on to for the , and in the early 90’s. Nowadays, Horsman is back in Nova Scotia and recently returned to the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League with the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, the defending 2005 Baseball Canada Senior Champions.

Finally, who could talk about Senior without at least mentioning Bill “Spaceman” Lee. Bill spent 14 years in the Majors with Boston and Montreal. He twice won 17 games with the Red Sox and started two games in what many believe to be one of the best Championships ever, the between the and the Reds. When Lee’s MLB career ended he brought his talents to Canada where he pitched in Senior leagues from one end of the Country to the other.

Page 4 of 18 Baseball Trivia:

Match the Hall of Famer with the strange facts of his career. The following Hall of Fame players have some brief facts written about their life. Those facts are written in paragraphs 1-30. Can you match the player to their paragraph?

Earl Averill, , , , , ; , Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, , , , Nap Lajoie, A1 Kaline, , , , Cornelius McGillicuddy, Joe McCinnity, , , Jim O'Rourke, , , , , Honus Wagner, , Ted Williams, .

1 One of three Hall of Famers to be a card carrying Ku Klux Clan member. All time leader for stealing home. Retired a multi-millionaire as perhaps richest baseball player of his era as a result of early purchases of Coca Cola stocks. Considered the fiercest competitor in the history of the game, a characteristic he also demonstrated off the diamond in knifings and fights.

2. Threw three World Series in only year in which winning WS team did not allow an . Was considered the All-American boy of his era for his looks, intelligence and moral principles and was the most well loved player of his generation. Only Major League star ever to serve as a major college class president (Bucknell). Served as a captain in the Amy in WW I where an accidental gassing led to his death in 1925 at just 47 years of age.

3. Only man to be fined for accidentally killing a seagull. Only star drafted by no less then four pro sports leagues (NFL, NBA, ABA and Baseball).

4. Winner of the first all-star game and his 6-0 WS record is the best ever. One of baseball's most quotable players ever. He also drove in the first ever run in an all-star game and drove in a WS clinching run as well, despite being a notoriously poor hitter.

5. First man ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine (1954) and his 500th career homer off Hall of Famer was the only career 500 homer ever hit off a pitching great in his prime. As a rookie, his three homers in the final game of the Boston Braves franchise in 1952 was the greatest send-off by a hitter before a franchise shift.

6. The best of three very good brothers to play in the Majors. No player in history struck out less (114 times in 7132 times at bat, in 1932 he fanned three times in 503 at bats). Only player to have his career started as a call-up following the death of a Major Leaguer on the diamond (replacement for following beaning incident).

Page 5 of 18 7. Considered the hardest thrower in the first 60 years of pro baseball history. Only pitching great to end his career in a pinch hit appearance, and it came in the same game that Babe Ruth hit his legendary 60th home run. Holds record for most career 1-0 victories and for hitting .417 one year as a pitcher.

8. No player in baseball history had a larger family of Major Leaguers (five of six brothers played in the majors). Only Major Leaguer ever to hit four homers in a game and hit .400 for a season. Most mysterious death in big league history, when he reportedly was tossed off a train in Ontario, Canada for drunken behavior and reportedly fell off a railway bridge over Niagara River as he followed the train. His body was recovered at the base of Niagara Falls.

9. One the best hitting Hall of Fame of all time, with a .269 career average, 36 homers, 273 RBI and 228 pinch-hitting appearances. No player conquered more adversity to reach the Hall, as he was 39-96 to start his career, but finished it, with a 273-225 record and he did it all after having lost four toes off his left foot in a mine accident as a youngster.

10. Only man to throw an opening day no-hitter. Holds record for most strikeouts (15) in a game at youngest age (17). One of few Major League stars to serve with distinction in WW II military combat where he won eight battles as a gunnery officer on a battleship in the Pacific War with Japan.

11, Nicknamed ‘Iron Man’after recording five wins in six days and completing both ends of five doubleheaders in a six week span of the same season and his 434 innings of work that year is a record since 1900. No player this century had more organized baseball wins, with 247 in the Majors and another 171 in the Minors to follow, pitching his last game at the age of 54.

12. Only Hall of Famer to have his body cryogenically preserved .Only Hall of Famer to lose five peak years of his career serving in the military as a marine fighter pilot in both WW II and Korea, where he was a wingman of test-pilot legend Chuck Yeager in Korea. Only Hall of Famer to homer in his final big league at bat.

13. Only HOF player to finish his career with exactly as many hits at home as on the road (1815 and 1815) despite one of the least conventional batting stances ever by a hitting great. Was actually signed as a pitcher, but a shoulder injury subbing in the outfield ended his pitching hopes. First HOF to play over l000 games at each of two positions (outfield and first base) Considered one of the most personable superstars ever to play the game, on and off the diamond.

14. Holds the record for strikeouts in one World Series (35). Only man to start of three World Series. First Creighton Grad inducted into the school Hall of Fame but he did it in basketball, before going on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters, all this despite being a sickly child who had a heart murmur and once nearly died.

Page 6 of 18 15. Only Major Leaguer to have a son play in the Majors and another son play in the NFL as a member of the Baltimore Colts. Only man to manage both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

16. Only Hall of Famer to have Major League team named after him while he served as player manager (in Cleveland). Considered by many historians as greatest second basemen ever.

17. An early legend in the game who had popular songs written of him, regularly bet with fans at the games he played and was the one idol of the U.S. Nation. Credited by many with originating the play, he appeared on stage and on billboards as a dapper playboy and was taken to the park in horse drawn carriages fit for royalty. He died at age 36 from hard living and partying.

18. Nicknamed ‘The Orator’, He played in the first ever Major League game in 1876 and had the first ever hit. He hung around to be the only player from that league to play when the century turned over and the World Series was instituted. At 52 he caught Hall of Famer Joe McGinnity in his last Major League game and got his nickname from umpires for his verbosity when arguing calls.

19. He and his brother combined to win all four decisions in one World Series Championship. One of televisions first great baseball commentators who oft sang ‘The Wabash Cannonball on his broadcasts. The team nickname ‘Gashouse Gang’ was given his team because he used to pump gas at a garage he owned near the team facility in .

20. May have had the greatest single season ever for one person. In 1948 he both managed and played for the World Series winning Indians. A year in which he hit 355, was league MVP, drove in 106 runs, scored 116 and anchored the infield with his play at . Then went four for four with two homers in a sudden death tie-breaker to make the WS. In 1942, at age 24, he became the youngest player ever to manage a team for a full season in just his second campaign in the Majors .

21. No man in history threw more relief innings, but he also had a no hitter. Only man in baseball history to homer in his first at bat, triple in his next, and never hit another homer or triple in over 20 Major League seasons.

22. Signed out of sandlot ball, he never played a inning and first suited up in the Majors at a position (right field) he had never played in his life but won ten gold gloves at. Youngest player ever to win an A.L. batting title and despite 399 career homers he never once had a season of 30 or more homers.

Page 7 of 18 23. Played a record 24 seasons without a World Series appearance. His 16-8 record at age 45 is the best ever for a pitcher 40 and over. He has the most career wins after his 40th birthday. He and his brother hold the record of career mound wins (539) by one family ... strangely his brother’s only Major League homer came off his older sibling.

24. Only player to win batting titles in three different decades. Only Hall of Fame player to be a majority owner of a Major Junior franchise (Spokane Chiefs). His brother finished his career as a pitching teammate with him.

25. One of the all-time court jesters of Major League Baseball, he was known for stopping games he was pitching to chase after passing fire engines, a fascination he had even as a child. He wrestled alligators in Florida, played marbles with children before some of his games, had a provision in his contract not to eat animal crackers in bed after complaints by teammates having to room and bed with him on the road and once had his sit around him on the mound while he fanned the side in a big league game. A heavy drinker who bartended when he wasn’t sipping, he was dead by 38. Fittingly, he succumbed on April Fools day.

26. Best hitter on a last place team in Major League history. In 1930 he hit .386 with 40 homers, 170 RBI and 158 runs scored for a Phillies team that finished 52-102. In 1933 he won a triple crown but didn’t even win MVP honors. His first five full years in the Majors were the best ever recorded by any player in history at the start of their career.

27. The only man ever to hit a home run completely out of . Hit more career homers than and Babe Ruth. At the age of 36 in good health, he told his family he was going to die that night and passed away in his sleep that same night.

28. The only Hall of Fame player to homer in his first Major League at bat. Only Hall of Fame player to have a son of the exact same first and last name to play regularly in the Majors . His all-star game line drive off the toe of rival hurler Dizzy Dean would effectively cut short Dean’s career in its prime.

29. The forgotten real name for the longest living Hall of Fame player and a man whose involvement with baseball saw him work closely with more Hall of Fame players than anyone in the game.What was the name he carried with him into the Hall of Fame?

30. First player to have his signature enscribed on Louisville Slugger bats. His is valued at over $1 million as the most valuable sports card in the world after it was pulled from production early when he protested having his visage on a cigarette card promotion that he deemed to be unfit for children ... although he himself chewed tobacco. His love of the game saw him turn down huge contract offers in the day to remain with his home region (Pittsburgh) team.

Page 8 of 18 Baseball Nicknames- (Trivia)

Can you match the player with his nickname? All nicknames are of high level Major Leaguers in their era. Many were Hall of Fame players. Category A is for rookies (Average baseball knowledge), Category B is for professionals (Above average baseball knowledge) and Category C for the Hall of Fame baseball experts. (Good luck, you'll need it!).

Also, 47 of these players are in the Hall of Fame, see how many you can name. HOF players are listed following the baseball genius trivia category.

Category A- 1. Joe Dimaggio 2. Ty Cobb 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Ron Cey 8. 9. A1 Hrabosky 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Andres Galarraga 16. 17. 18. Willie Mays 19. 20. 21. Bob Feller 22. Babe Ruth 23. 24. 25.

A. The Bird; B. Mr. October; C. Rapid Robert; D. Charlie Hustle; E. Boomer; F. Wild Thing; G. The Yankee Clipper; H. The Thrill; I. Le Grande Orange; J. The Lip; K. The Wizard of 02; L. The Mad Hungarian; M. The Big Unit; N.The Kid; 0. Say Hey Kid; P. Sky King; Q. The Penguin; R The Big Cat;. S.The Vacuum Cleaner; The Iron Horse; U. The Cobra; V. The Straw Man; W. Rocket; X. The Bambino; Y. The Georgia Peach.

The nicknames for most of these men are better understood by the current generation. Dave Kingman got his nickname (one of several) for the towering homeruns he hit. Lou Gehrig was named for playing over 2,000 straight games. Only a fatal disease took Gehrig out of the lineup: Ty Cobb's baseball abilities were so great he was dubbed the Georgia Peach regardless of his wasp like personality.

Page 9 of 18 Category B Expert- 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Jim Wynn 7. 8. Brian Downing 9. .Frank Baker 10. Dick Stuart 1 1. 12 13.lefty Gomez 14. 15. Charlie Grimm 16. 17. 18. Joaquin Andujar 19. 20. 21. Walter Johnson 22. Honus Wagner 23. 24. 25. James O’Rourke

A. One Tough Dominican; B. The Mahatma; C. Lightnin’; D. The Human Rain D ay; E. Orator Jim; F. The Flea; G. The Big Train; H. Stonewall; I. The Flying Dutchman; J. Three Fingers; K. Home Run; L. The Commerce Comet; M. The Little Colonel; N. Jolly Cholly; 0. The Incredible Hulk; P. Dr. Strange Glove; Q. Chairman of the Board; R. The Old Professor; S. Simba; T. The Barber; U. The Kamikaze Kid; V. The Toy Cannon; W. El Goofy; X. TheWild Horse of the Osage; Y. Rajah.

Category C - Genius Category 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Earl Combs 8. 9. 10.. derb Pennock 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Tris Speaker 24. Charley Comiskey 25. .

A. The Arkansas Hummingbird; B. Eagle Eye; C. The Peerless Leader; D. Schoolboy; E. Old Aches and Pains; F. The Kentucky Colonel; G. Grey Eagle; H. The Mechanical Man; 1. The Beast; J. The Hope Diamond; K. Old Tomato Face; L. Poosh ‘Em Up; M. The Little Steam Engine; N. The Old Fox; 0. Ee-Yah; P. Beauty; Q. Big Six; R. The Meal Ticket; S. Big Poison; T. The Crab; U. 01’ Stubblebeard; V. The Duke of Tmlee; W. The Old Roman; X. The People’s Cherce; Y. The Squire of Kennett Square.

Page 10 of 18 With Kamloops set to host the 2005 Baseball Canada Senior Championship from Aug. 24- 28, 2005 at the recently refurbished Nor-Brock Stadium, this City joins Trail as the two focal points for the sport in the Interior. At the Senior levels perhaps only these two cities have kept the faith every year for the past half century. At the coast, Victoria and Vancouver and some Fraser Valley communities have always had Senior baseball and the same holds true for Kamloops and Trail. Most people would think this longevity rests solely with a great interest by the players. What is poorly understood is the fact that important and relatively nameless individuals spend endless hours organizing leagues, preparing the fields, coaching and fund raising. It is this cadre of true believers who the fans tend to forget about. I cannot begin to name all the names, or know all the faces but at least we can say thanks to all and realize that without these people the game would not have survived in Kamloops.

I will name a few individuals who were integral in the survival of baseball in Kamloops, some still with us, many hopefully in their own 'Field of Dreams'. Thank you Frank Rota, Rick Leroux, Jack Fowles, Buck Buchanan, Tommy Blair, Wayne Harper, Sam and Mimi Dempsey, Gordon Bregoliss; Dale Cassell, Dave Simpson, Ralph Galloway, Grant McLeod, Hank Osborne, Ronny Masson, Dean Padar, Ken Walcott, Roy Moldenauer, Dennis Kujat, Lynn Bylund, Gary Cameron, Bob Bridges, Ray Chadwick, Rick Cotter, Bob Winters, Ray Hemmitt, John Dyck, Bev Dyck, Jeff Vanjoff, Sandy Devick, Terry Devick, Rob Kuroyama, Ken Ellerbeck, Jay Lapp, Ron Douglas, Shane Giorio, Rob Kloster, Sean Wandler, Darcey Bradford and everyone else who gave so much back to the game as supporters when their playing days were done.

The Kamloops Black Sox Baseball Club, Managed by Ken Walcott, is the host team in the 2005 Senior Nationals. For the Sox, a year of great expectations and goals has been complicated by the fact that the Major Baseball League in which they play was decimated by the demise of teams in and Vernon. "Not having a league to play in didn't make things any easier as we prepare to host the Nationals” said Walcott. "Without our own league games to count on it has meant lining up a lot of tournament play and exhibition games, but we should still get in our normal quota of about 30 games prior to the nationals and if any thing, it will be a much tougher schedule of games competitively”. Presently, Vernon has regrouped and joined the Sox in a league that also includes Trail and will also feature the return of Enderby on an exhibition basis in 2005. Kelowna continues to remain on the outside looking in and they represent a considerable loss, considering they have won the Okanagan title seven of the past eight years. That reign was ended last year by the Kamloops Black Sox.

After overcoming worries about league play the Kamloops Black Sox were hit with another bomb. They lost pitching Steve McRae to job commitments in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver). McRae now plays for the Burnaby Bulldogs, 5 time defending Provincial Senior Champions. If that reign continues McRae would be lost for the Nationals and may very well end up taking the mound against the Kamloops Black Sox during the 2005 Baseball Canada Senior Championship. But that’s not all! 2005 started off with limited field time for the Sox and the team

Page 11 of 18 was forced to play the majority of games on the road. This was due to the massive overhaul at Norbroc Stadium as it prepares for the Senior Nationals. As a result, when teams arrive in Kamloops they will be playing in some of the best facilities this country has to offer.

Through good times and bad, Kamloops has never wavered at the Senior level, largely because of the huge commitment from people behind the scenes. Walcott, an RCMP Member from Nova Scotia, played baseball in the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League and has now found time to Manage the Kamloops Black Sox while also sitting in the Chairman’s seat for the 2005 Nationals.

Walcott feels the current Kamloops Black Sox are pretty well stocked with positional players and hitters, but knows that the usual pick-ups will be a necessity for the National Championship. “Once the B.C. playoffs are complete (in August) the B.C. Champs and the Kamloops Black Sox will have the right to pick-up players from anywhere in the Province. The key is to add those three or four players without disrupting the chemistry of your own team. Those additions will likely include Kamloops Junior Sun Devils and former National Junior Team pitcher, Evan Bailey. The list will also include Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack coach, Ray Chadwick. Chadwick is an ex Major Leaguer who pitched for the Anaheim Angels back in 1986. Chadwick is a fit 43-year old whose Major League career ended in a car accident but whose minor league stops brought him to Canada where the young man from Durham, North Carolina fell in love with this country. His 1986 season with Anaheim saw him get a taste for the Manager’s job. That year he was managed by the legendary while forming a with . Also on that roster was Hall of Fame pitcher and 'Mr. October', Reggie Jackson, not to mention Canadian pitching great Kirk McCaskill. A fellow rookie also on the team was destined for future stardom with the Blue Jays in Devon White.

Defensively, the current Kamloops Black Sox are particularly strong at a key position. Veteran catcher, Al Mitton, provides stability behind the plate while the infield and outfield are well stocked with interchangeable parts that provide several options.

The health of the Junior and Senior baseball ranks in Kamloops is probably shown in the fact that for the first time ever, two Kamloops baseball players were taken in the 2005 Major League baseball . Pitcher, Wynn, a former Kamloops River Dogs player and catcher, Paul Wourms, a current Kamloops Junior Sun Devils and TRU baseball player were both picked in the 2005 Major League Draft. This is more evidence of the fact that B.C. has suddenly blossomed into a hotbed for baseball talent in Canada, evidenced by a big flow of quality B.C. grads into the Major Leagues. Enter Chadwick at the helm of the TRU Baseball Team and you’ve got the makings for a baseball hotbed in the interior as well.

Everyone knows that Larry Walker of Maple Ridge is the best slugger ever to come out of Canada, but it is less well known that 2004 National League Rookie of the Year (Trail), along with pitching phenom and Oakland’s young flamethrower Rich Harden (Victoria), along with Cubs closer (Sechelt) and Minnesota slugger , all hail from this Province. Add to this list Baltimore starter

Page 12 of 18 Erik Bedard and B.C. could put together a pretty fair 'National Team' just out of this Province. The success of B.C. in producing so much quality isn't just chance, but is related directly to some very good baseball people promoting the game in this Province, all of which puts pressure on the two B.C. reps to compete at the 2005 Senior Nationals in Kamloops.

It is impossible to do justice to the in Kamloops, because few if any of us were around when the roots of the game were founded in this City. We do know that the first organized minor baseball leagues in the City date back at least sixty years, but unlike Major League Baseball we don't have historic journals that tell us much beyond that. We also know that Senior Baseball in the City probably enjoyed its greatest heyday with the Kamloops Okonots of the Okanagan Mainline Baseball League during the 1960's in particular. The Senior sport enjoyed a huge resurgence with the success of the Kamloops Sandpipers in the 1980's and the Kamloops International Baseball Tournament of present day, which grew out of the old Labour Day Baseball Tournament starting about 1970.

Feeding the Senior interest was the “Big Little Man” in the heart of the works. Kamloops Senior Babe Ruth Jay Rays coach Frank Rota’s tireless coaching and organizational work with one of the truly great youth baseball teams in the Province, was all the more remarkable for the fact that he also umpired and spent many years working with local ladies . One of his graduate players, Rick Leroux, would step forward and do much of the organizational work as a player- coach with the Kamloops Sandpipers who won numerous B.C. Senior Baseball titles, before Leroux took his baseball interests to Enderby and Vernon.

Although no locally raised player has ever played Major League Baseball, more than a few played in the high minors and pitcher named played for the local side before a stint in the Major with Texas as a closer, including an all-star appearance.

Others like Johnny Brkich, Art Worth, Art Jaccard, Joe Yanchuk and Ken McGillivray played in the minors in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Jay Rays also had a pair of pitchers signed to player contracts as Canadian protections by the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays. Jeff Bloom received an Expos tryout while Randy Wiens appeared fast tracked for the Major Leagues when he was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays. Wiens enjoyed two stellar seasons as a closer in the low minors before getting caught up in the politics of a the game at the Major League level. Those politics can be as unbending and old-world traditionalist as a marine corp drill sergeant.

As big as hockey is in Kamloops and Canada, it is a little known fact that no single team from the City boasts more local Hall of Fame players than the Kamloops Okonots, where Jack Fowles, Buck Buchanan, Dale Cassell, Bob Bridges and Randy Rota all had either long or short careers with the teams. Fowles and Buchanan were slugging mainstays with the team and multi-sport athletes while Bob Bridges was a fireballing import from Arizona who had a sensational career locally that included several years with the Canadian National Team. Unlike most imports of his era, Bridges gave his heart back to the City as a long time teacher and coach of high school basketball and football.

Page 13 of 18 Dale Cassell and Randy Rota were fine baseball players but their first love was hockey, with Rota moving on to play in the .

The Kamloops International Baseball Tournament has always provided local fans with a chance to see some of the best baseball talent in the Pacific Northwest, but younger fans of the game would not know that in the 1970’s this tourney featured some of the best young talent in the land.

Those were the years when the Fairbanks, Alaska Goldpanners dominated the field with a summer baseball roster filled with high round Major League Baseball draft picks fast-tracking their careers towards the Major . Before their appearances at the KIBT tourney, the ‘Panners had sent over 30 alumni on to the Major Leagues, most notably, , Dave Winfield and Ron Cey. Kamloops missed the opportunity to see such legends, but did get to see a lot of pretty good talent with the Alaska teams or with clubs out of and Oregon. Names like , and Steve Kemp led this list, though at least a dozen KIBT alumni have gone on to play in the Major Leagues.

The Kamloops Sport Hall of Fame has its roots indirectly drawn back to baseball. The Hall of Fame was started largely through the work of current chairman Frank D’Amour, initiated in honor of two local athletes and personal friends who died in their athletic prime. Those two individuals were Kevin Lappa and Roger Leroux. Lappa was a Westsyde football grad and CFL player who died of cancer and Roger Leroux was a mammoth slugger with the Kamloops Sandpipers baseball team where he and older brothers Rick and Allan also played. Roger Leroux also played football and a knee injury suffered while with the Okanagan Sun resulted in routine knee surgery and the unexpected complications following surgery that led to his death. It was to honor these two young men that the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame was started 15 years ago and today Rick and Roger Leroux are the only siblings in the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame. Other familial connections to baseball rest with the father, son election of Frank and Randy Rota and the father daughter golfing connection of Rod and Marilyn Palmer (O’Connor).

Then, there are those forgotten local baseball persons of which the late Dave Simpson is a classic example. Never at the forefront of baseball, but a tireless worker whose love for the game deserves mention here. Dave Simpson was the tireless groundskeeper for Ruth Jay Rays and joined Steve Plante to promote a summer minor baseball league for those players wanting to turn a short ten week season into a full-summer of baseball. His collection of hockey and baseball memorabilia would have stocked a small museum, which he faithfully added to up until his passing and if it existed today would have had substantial monetary value, but for Dave Simpson it was a collection for love of the game and until his passing he lived in the same humble home that perhaps so typifies that tireless workers who give to any sport with little or no thanks.

The City of Kamloops likes to trumpet that it is ‘The Tournament Capital of Canada ’ and that it has the huge volunteer base to make it all possible. Well let it be known here that this is only partly true. That ‘huge’ volunteer base is overloaded with a rapidly aging hard-core nucleus of long time workers who as they pass away or retire are leaving an increasing vacuum that many sports are going to find hard to replace.

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Dave Simpson was emblematic of the fact that love of the game is much more then just playing the game, it is about giving back to the game and that requires time commitments that fewer and fewer people want to give.

Page 15 of 18 Answers

Answers- Match the Hall of Fame Player with the strange facts of his career 1. Ty Cobb; 2. Christy Mathewson; 3. Dave Winfield; 4. Lefty Gomez; 5. Eddie Mathews; 6. Joe Sewell; 7. Walter Johnson; 8. Ed Delahanty; 9. Red Ruffing; 10. Bob Feller; 11. Joe McGinnity; 12. Ted Williams; 13. Stan Musial; 14. Bob Gibson; 15. Yogi Bern; 16. Nap Lajoie; 17. King Kelly; 18. James O'Rourke; 19. Dizzy Dean; 20. Lou Boudreau; 21. Hoyt Wilhelm; 22. A1 Kaline; 23. Phil Niekro; 24. George Brett; 25. Rube Waddell; 26. Chuck Klein; 27. Josh Gibson; 28. ; 29. Cornelius McGillicuddy (alias Connie Mack); 30. Honus Wagner.

Answers- Category A (Rookie) 1G, 2Y, 3T, 4N, 5M, 6W, 7Q, 8H, 9L, 10J, 11P, 12D, 13S, 14U, 15R, 16B, 17A, 18O, 19F, 20I, 21C, 22X, 23E, 24K, 25V

Answers- Category B (Expert) 1L, 2Q, 3X, 4T, 5S, 6V, 7C, 8O, 9K,10P, 11F,12R,13W, 14D, 15N, 16U,17M, 18A,19H, 20J, 21G, 22I,23Y, 24B, 25E

Nickname Reference Guide - Expert Joaquin Andujar was one tough Dominican who created his own nickname; Branch Rickey was indeed one of the sagest baseball men ever and was dubbed the Mahatma for his sacacity as well as his con man like demeanor; Ron Guidry had not one but three nicknames, all relating to his blazing fastball and Cajun background; Mike Hargrove earned the best nickname of the past 50 years of baseball for his delaying actions in the batters box; James O’Rourke got his nickname for his prodigious arguments with umpires, he also was the only man to play in the first Major League game (1876) and also in the turn of the century at the age of 52; Freddie Patek won his nickname for his pesky power hitting despite his tiny physical stature; Walter Johnson was the first great fireballer in baseball and thus his nickname; Travis Jackson was dubbed Stonewall after the Civil War General and no doubt for his fine fielding at shortstop; Mickey Mantle’s nicknamed was combined with his home town of Commerce, Okla. and the blistering speed he had in his early Major League years, not to mention the commercial success he had as his name was marketed throughout the nation; Pee Wee Reese got his nickname for his dignified leadership on the diamond; Charlie Grimm’s affable fun-loving nature led to a nickname that belied his family name; Brian Downing’s nickname related to his physique; Dick Stuart had one of the few truly great nicknames of the past half-century, he slugged prodigious home runs but had a glove that went dank in the night; Whitey Ford got his nickname as the Yankees pitching leader, intelligence and confidence in an organization known for its corporate efficiency; Casey Stengel’s nickname related to his crafty baseball management; Simba Simmons got his nickname for his long locks; Sal Maglie was nicknamed for the close shaves he gave batters as one of the games all-time headhunters; Lenny Dykstra was truly a Kamikaze in the way he played the game; Jim

Page 16 of 18 Wynn was a small black man with big-time power and the ‘Toy Cannon’ earned one of the other great nicknames of the past 50 years; Lefty Gomez truly was ‘El Goofy’ when it came to one-liners and a blythe spirit on the diamond; Pepper Martin was the spirit of the great St. Louis Gas House gang, an Oklahoma country boy whose fiery play and love of rural hunting earned his monicker. Rogers Hornsby didn’t read or watch movies to protect his keen batting eye. The nickname Rajah related to both his first name and the fact that he was truly royalty as a hitter.

Answers- Category C (Genius) 1M, 2V, 3N, 4E, 5J, 6A, 7F, 8B, 9I, 10Y, 11U, 12L, 13X, 14T, 15S, 16P, 17R, 18H, 19K, 20C, 21Q, 22O, 23G, 24W, 25D

Nickname Reference Guide - Genius Pud Galvin was as a fireplug workhorse who grunted when he pitched; Roger Bresnahan was a hard-nosed Irishmen; Clark Griffith was known as one of the games great early innovators and thinking men on the diamond; Luke Appling was a chronic moaner but seldom missed a game; Charlie Hough (don’t know how this nickname came about); Lon Warneke sang in an Arkansas hillybilly band; Earl Combs was a Kentuckian and classy leader on the field; Jake Beckley had piercing eyed intensity; Jimme Foxx had a menacing physique and hit many mammoth homer; hailed from blue blood in posh and historic Kennett Square Pennsylvania, an equestrian and master of hounds: Burleigh Grimes was the last legal spitballer and never shaved on game day because the slippery elm he chewed for his spitter aggravated his skin; Tony Lazzeri’s strange nickname is unaccounted for; Dixie Walker was a huge fan favorite in Brooklyn and dubbed himself the People’s Choice after fans bought more WW I1 war bonds in his name then any Major Leaguer; his father and brother also played in the Major ; Jesse Burkett was so named for his sour disposition; Paul Waner was dubbed Little Poison by an opposing Brooklyn fan whose accent of calling Waner a big poison (person) and his brother Lloyd as a little poison was also a fitting description of the pure poison they delivered on opposing pitchers; Dave Bancroft was so named for his slick fielding and agility at shortstop; Carl Hubbell winner of a record 24 straight decisions on perennial contenders his nickname was self-explanatory; Charlie Gehringer was so quietly consistent year in and year out at the plate and in the field that a manager said you just wound him up at the start of the season and let him play; Gabby Hartnett’s nickname was self explanatory; Frank Chance got his nickname as the tough player manager of the greatest Cubs teams ever fielded; Christy Mathewson was nicknamed after fire engine called ‘The Big Six’ and was perhaps the most idolized and educated man of his era with matinee idol looks to go with it; Hughie Jennings was a firebrand on the diamond whose piercing ‘ee-yah!’ cries led to his nickname; Tris Speaker (nickname unaccounted for); Charley Comiskey had a truly Roman visage; Waite Hoyt had major legue tryouts while still in high school.

Page 17 of 18 The following players are Hall of Fame players listed in the three above noted trivia categories. How many did you recognize?

Luke Appling; Frank Baker; Dave Bancroft; Jake Beckley; Roger Bresnahan; Mordecai Brown; Jesse Burkett; Frank Chance; Ty Cobb; ; Charley Comiskey; Joe DiMaggio; Leo Durocher; Bob Feller; Whitey Ford; Jimmie Foxx; Pud Galvin; Lou Gehrig; Charlie Gehringer; Lefty Gomez; Clark Griffith; Burleigh Grimes; Charlie Grimm; Gabby Hartnett; Rogers Hornsby; Waite Hoyt; Carl Hubbell; Reggie Jackson; Travis Jackson; Hughie Jennings; Walter Johnson; Tony Lazzeri; Mickey Mantle; Christy Mathewson; Willie Mays; James 0’ Rourke; Herb Pennock; Pee Wee Reese; Branch Rickey; Brooks Robinson; Babe Ruth; Ozzie Smith; Tris Speaker; Casey Stengel; Honus Wagner; Paul Waner;

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