He played on a World Series-winning team with Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra and pitched for Hall of Fame managers Connie Mack and Casey Stengel. However with the way umpires check pitchers for substances today, Ralph Buxton, the man sometimes referred to as the “Pine Tar Baby,” would’ve been in trouble. But that’s all part of the story of this little-talked-about right-hander, who in 1938 became the first player born in Saskatchewan to compete in the major leagues.
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 →
Canadian ball hall inductee Dick Fowler would be 100 today
Former Philadelphia A's right-hander Dick Fowler (Toronto, Ont.) would've turned 100 today. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame *To commemorate Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Dick Fowler's 100th birthday, I'm re-running this article that I wrote about his no-hitter that was published last September. By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada No one could’ve predicted... Continue Reading →
Seventy-five years ago, Dick Fowler became the first Canadian to throw a MLB no-hitter
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 pitched in a recreational league while in the... Continue Reading →
Cooperstowners in Canada: Rube Waddell
He was born on Friday the 13th and he died on April Fools’ Day. That somehow seems fitting for Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell, who was one of baseball’s most colourful and impulsive characters, not to mention the American League’s top left-handed pitcher during the first decade of the 20th century. In parts of... Continue Reading →
Remembering Dick Fowler: The Canadian army vet who threw a no-hitter
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Dick Fowler was a lanky, golden-armed 18-year-old when he dazzled the Toronto Maple Leafs brass at training camp in 1939. The local sensation debuted for his hometown squad in 1940, and Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics would purchase his contract later that same year. The six-foot-five hurler recorded a complete-game... Continue Reading →
Remembering Canadian big leaguer and war hero Phil Marchildon
While working in the Creighton Mine in Sudbury and starring for the company baseball team, Phil Marchildon was convinced to try out with the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs in 1938. The hard-throwing Penetanguishene, Ont., native struck out seven of the nine batters he faced at the tryout and would report to the Leafs training... Continue Reading →
Remembering Canadian big leaguer and war hero Phil Marchildon
While working in the Creighton Mine in Sudbury and starring for the company baseball team, Phil Marchildon was convinced to try out with the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs in 1938. The hard-throwing Penetanguishene, Ont., native would strike out seven of the nine batters he faced at the tryout and would report to the Leafs... Continue Reading →