My weekly observations and notes about some Canadian baseball stories: Note from Kevin: It's best to click on the link and read this through the website that way you will see all the graphics and tweets that I refer to. · Happy 53rd Birthday to Canadian baseball legend Larry Walker, who I hope will soon... Continue Reading →
1954 Montreal Royals Team Photo . . . Ed Roebuck
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 →
1954 Montreal Royals Team Photo . . . Humberto (Chico) Fernandez
[twitter-follow screen_name='coopincanada'] It's not easy being a prospect when the player you're touted to replace is a perennial all-star and fan favourite. That's the position that Humberto "Chico" Fernandez found himself in after he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a 19-year-old in 1951. Once the slick-fielding shortstop was in the Dodgers' system, it... Continue Reading →
Hall of Fame managers with Canadian links
Earlier this week, I wrote about Walter Alston’s successful tenure as manager of the Montreal Royals, before he became a legendary skipper with the Dodgers. “The Quiet Man,” as he was sometimes dubbed, would pilot the Dodgers for 23 seasons, leading them to four World Series titles and seven National League pennants. But Alston isn’t... Continue Reading →
Dodgers legend Walter Alston also managed Montreal Royals
Before guiding the Dodgers to four World Series titles and seven National League pennants, Hall of Fame skipper, Walter Alston, honed his managerial skills with the Montreal Royals. Born in Venice, Ohio on December 1, 1911, the legendary bench boss enjoyed a brief, uneventful stint in the big leagues as a player. His only major... Continue Reading →
Roy Hartsfield, Blue Jays first manager, dies
The snow blanketing the field for the Toronto Blue Jays' inaugural game on April 7, 1977, must have been a shock for Roy Hartsfield, the team’s first skipper who had managed the Padres’ Triple-A club in Hawaii for the previous four seasons. But a little snow wasn’t about to cool Hartsfield’s excitement. After 15 seasons... Continue Reading →