Kevin Glew’s Canadian Baseball History Blog
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 →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - Just a reminder that the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., opened its doors for the season yesterday. It's well worth a visit. For more information about its hours and its COVID-19 safety precautions, please... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Glew Cooperstowners in Canada My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: - Self-described Baseball Reference Play Index adherent Austin J. Eich shares a seemingly endless stream of fascinating baseball stats on Twitter, including this one (below) about Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.). Eich notes that... Continue Reading →
My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: So far so good for Montreal Expos legend Tim Raines in the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting. Thanks to the hard-working Ryan Thibodaux, who documents baseball writers’ ballots that have been made public, we know that Raines has been named on 50 of 56... Continue Reading →
From ace starter in Montreal to World Series-winning closer in Brooklyn, Ed Roebuck certainly proved his versatility on the mound in the mid-1950s. After tying for the team lead in wins (18) with the Triple-A Montreal Royals in 1954, Roebuck made the big league Dodgers as a reliever the following spring. Brooklyn bench boss Walter... Continue Reading →
News release from Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame: http://www.baseballhalloffame.ca Chatham, ON - It would be a disservice to simply label Gene Dziadura as the scout who signed Canadian baseball icon and Hall-of-Famer Fergie Jenkins. The proud native of Chatham, a regular attendee at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s annual induction ceremony, passed away Tuesday... Continue Reading →