Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
May 28, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Montreal native Russell Martin is set to officially announce his retirement. The veteran catcher, who hasn’t played a big league game since 2019, told Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre during an interview for their La Poche bleue podcast that he’ll make the formal announcement on social... Continue Reading →
May 3, 2022 By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Many of the biggest highlights of Gary Waslewski’s baseball career happened when he was pitching in Canada. In 1965 and 1966, he was a key pitcher for the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs and helped them capture back-to-back championships. In the latter year, he won 18... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada To say Bill Sampen had an unlikely big league career would be a massive understatement. The former Montreal Expos right-hander grew up in Emden, Ill., a tiny farming community (population 500) and attended an equally tiny high school (approximately 120 students) whose baseball team was managed by the basketball... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Montreal Expos scout Kelvin Bowles passed away on Sunday at the age of 82 after a lengthy illness. He died in his home in Smith Mountain Lake, Va. Bowles was a versatile and respected scout for Jim Fanning and the Expos from 1985 to 1990. He was entrusted... Continue Reading →
Manitoba baseball legend Gerry MacKay has passed away at age 91. Photo: Redpath Funeral Home By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Gerry MacKay, the head coach of the first Canadian national team to compete in the Pan Am Games, passed away on January 22 in Brandon, Man., at the age of 91. A multi-sport legend... Continue Reading →
Bob Robertson with the Toronto Blue Jays. By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada He belted three home runs in Game 2 of the 1971 National League Championship Series hitting behind Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. And he'd club two more during the 1971 World Series to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Baltimore Orioles in... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Former Montreal Expos manager Bill Virdon passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90. The Pittsburgh Pirates, whom Virdon maintained ties with, announced his death on social media early Tuesday afternoon. Virdon was the dugout boss of the Montreal Expos in 1983 and for most of the 1984... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Chuck Hartenstein, a relief pitcher on the 1977 Toronto Blue Jays, passed away on Saturday at the age of 79. The University of Texas Athletics department reported his death on their website on Tuesday. After major league tenures with the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: – It took 30 years but Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) finally has some Canadian company in the plaque gallery in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) joked about joining Jenkins in his... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada Jesse Jefferson, a workhorse starting pitcher on the early Toronto Blue Jays teams, would've turned 72 today. The underrated right-hander, who hailed from Midlothian, Va., passed away in 2011 after a courageous battle with prostate cancer. He was just 62. Selected by the Blue Jays from the Chicago White... Continue Reading →