Who is the oldest scout in major league history? Well, he was a Canadian named Frank O'Rourke who scouted until age 92 with the New York Yankees.
Long Reads: Frank O’Rourke: MLB’s oldest scout was a Canadian
Long Reads: Bob Emslie: The Canadian ump who quietly set pitching records
May 26, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Bob Emslie was an umpire. That’s how the St. Thomas, Ont., native identified himself well after he called his final major league strike. In fact, he was so closely linked to that profession that it’s listed as his occupation on his death certificate -- despite the... Continue Reading →
Long Reads: Allan Roth: The story of the Canadian who was MLB’s first team statistician
Allan Roth (Montreal, Que.) calculated baseball statistics in his office before computers. Photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Before Bill James, Sabermetrics and FanGraphs, one determined Canadian helped start it all. Allan Roth was a 26-year-old former tie and suspenders salesman from Montreal, who had a passion for baseball... Continue Reading →
Long Reads: Canadian Russ Ford’s “secret” led to best rookie season in major league history
Russ Ford is in the bottom row, last player on the right in this 1910 New York Highlanders team photo. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Subscriber Content Add content here that will only be visible to your subscribers. By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada If you look closely at the 1910 New York Highlanders... Continue Reading →
Long Reads: From the Army to the A’s, Dick Fowler was first Canadian to throw a MLB no-hitter
Dick Fowler. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada No one could’ve predicted that Dick Fowler would make history on September 9, 1945. Just eight days earlier, the 6-foot-4 Toronto native had returned to the Philadelphia A’s pitching staff after a 30-month term in the Canadian Army. Though Fowler had... Continue Reading →
Long Reads: 1941: DiMaggio, Williams and the Canadian that became the American League’s first 20-20-20 player
Jeff Heath. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Fate and, some would say, karma, attempted to humble Jeff Heath. For no matter what the brash, broad-shouldered Canadian-born slugger did on a professional baseball field – and much of it was remarkable – he always seemed to be overshadowed. It’s... Continue Reading →