Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
Who was the first player to walk to the plate in a major league game on the West Coast? The answer is Gino Cimoli, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound San Francisco native who was selected to bat leadoff for the Dodgers in their first regular season contest representing the city of Los Angeles. With his friends and... Continue Reading →
*This is part of my ongoing series of articles about members of the 1954 Montreal Royals. While manning left field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Don Thompson threw out New York Yankees second baseman Billy Martin to end Game 4 of the 1953 World Series. But while this toss was one of the highlights of Thompson's... Continue Reading →
Roberto Clemente appears comfortable and serene as he signs autographs for an eager group of kids in the above photo that was snapped at Jarry Park in 1970. But if you examine this baseball legend's numbers in Montreal during his professional career, you'd have to think that Clemente was frustrated for much of the time... 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 →
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 →
When I worked at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys in 2008 and 2009, I found myself fascinated with a 1954 Montreal Royals team photo. From 1939 to 1960, the Royals were the Triple-A farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers, so baseball immortals like Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Don... Continue Reading →
