Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
Courtesy of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (http://www.baseballhalloffame.ca) The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will be on the red carpet in Toronto as Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present, a Legendary Pictures Production, and the Brian Helgeland film, “42.” Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland (“L.A. Confidential”) wrote and directed the drama “42”... Continue Reading →
On February 24, I wrote about the Toronto Blue Jays’ first spring training game that took place on March 11, 1977 in Dunedin, Fla. But what happened in the Montreal Expos’ first spring training contest eight years earlier? To find out, I trekked over to the D.B. Weldon Library at Western University to track down... Continue Reading →
Writer’s Note: Jackie Robinson would've turned 94 today. In honour of his birthday, I present to you the short bio that I wrote for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s website. Prior to breaking Major League Baseball’s colour barrier in 1947, Jackie Robinson starred at second base for the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations about stories around the baseball world from a Canadian perspective (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports): - In an unfortunate first for the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, two of its inductees passed away on the same day. Longtime Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver died in the morning of an... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada It’s the most famous photo of Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals. Pictured in an over-sized uniform about to enter the Brooklyn Dodgers' clubhouse, the baseball pioneer looks young and happy as he stops to acknowledge a group of reporters. With the words “KEEP OUT” boldly emblazoned on... Continue Reading →
*This article has been adapted from an article I wrote in 2002. When historians talk about legends that are part of Canadian baseball history, they often mention Babe Ruth (hit his first home run in professional baseball in Toronto) or Jackie Robinson (played in Montreal before breaking Major League’s baseball colour barrier). Seldom do they... Continue Reading →
During my trek to Cooperstown two weeks ago, I found two photos of Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals that I hadn't seen before (one above, one below). Here's also a short bio I wrote about Robinson for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame website. (Robinson was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame... Continue Reading →
On Friday, I was fortunate to be part of a small group of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame representatives that was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Seven of us - including the Hall's director of operations Scott Crawford, board members Harry Gundy, Charlie Hammond, Tammy Adkin... Continue Reading →
Some Canadian baseball stories from the past week (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports): Guelph, Ont., native Scott Diamond has jumped out to a commanding lead in the online voting for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award. The Minnesota Twins lefty, who won 12 games and posted a 3.54 ERA this... Continue Reading →
His first professional baseball contract was signed in a quintessentially Canadian setting. New Brunswick native Billy Harris was competing in a hockey tournament in Buchans, Nfld., when Brooklyn Dodgers scout Bill O’Connor secured the stocky 19-year-old’s signature on a piece of paper. Although the five-foot-seven Harris was a standout stickhandler, it was his right arm... Continue Reading →