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i < V 8 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, August 24,1983 Section Two Orono Arena Fund Bolstered by Barbecue Returns Sports Author Digs into Baseball's History Orono Arena's Improvement finances should be bolstered by returns from the popular annual beef barbecue Wednesday at the park where a large crowd enjoyed the sumptuous food. These photos show only a few of those who attended the event, including political figures and at bottom Chef Sterling Mather in new hat. by Peter Parrott Baseball is a mirror in which the entire history of Canada is reflected, according according to a Bowmanville author who has just completed a history of the sport. "In some ways, it's a story about Canada as told through baseball," explained Bill Humber. His hard-cover volume which went on sale only last month includes 145 years of baseball history from Newfoundland Newfoundland to British Columbia. Columbia. Its title is Cheering for the Home team. "There's a picture from every province in the country country and the two territories," said Mr. Humber. The sports anecdotes also cover all provinces and territories territories in an effort to give the publication a national flavor. Perhaps the most surprising surprising piece of research arising arising from Bill Humber's book is the date when the first baseball game was played in Canada. He has discovered that the first pitch was thrown in 1838, near Woodstock, Ont. That piece of information may cause consternation among U.S. baseball fans. The popular myth south of the border suggests that the first game was played in Cooperstown, New York in 1839. That's a full year after the first game was played in Canada. Nevertheless, Canucks can't claim credit for inventing inventing the Yankee national national sport. In fact, Mr. Humber doubts that the origin origin of baseball can ever be pinned down to one time or place. "Tracing the evolution of baseball is like trying to trace the evolution of the wheel," he explains. A self-confessed baseball connoisseur, Bill Humber has been working on his baseball book for the past five years. "Baseball is my first love," he explains. But he also writes on a variety of other sports lore including including cycling and track and field. Bill Humber writes a sports history column in both City Cyclist, and Athletics, Athletics, a publication of the Ontario Ontario Track and Field Association. Association. He has drawn on libraries, libraries, archives, and correspondence correspondence with contacts throughout Canada to produce produce Cheering for the Home Team. And his own private archives consists of 5,000 sports publications in his home. Mr. Humber confesses confesses that he's never thrown away a single Sports Illustrated Illustrated Magazine since he received his first copy 22 years ago at age 12. Since he's a Bowmanville resident, Bill has taken the liberty of including several photos and anecdotes related related to his hometown as he tells the story of baseball in Canada. Cheering for the Home Team recalls, for example, a game in 1876 when the London Tecumsehs took on the local team in an exhibition exhibition game at a fairgrounds located on Carlisle Ave. The London team was of a similar calibre to today's Blue Jays, so it's not surprising surprising that they beat the local boys by a count of 18-2. Afterwords, the players retired retired for ice cream and songs in the old drill shed. A CODE OF ETHICS THIS WE CL AIM, tS THE SECRET-TO OUR FAME Mills Bros. Fuels Ltd. R.R. 6, Bowmanville Telephone 571-3757 t. i ... Yi.V,- It'S a hoot! 133 picture perfect playgrounds for you to discover. Ontario Provincial Parks © Ministry of hot Ai«nWi'op« N* 1 '™ 1 wTL, Resources Ontario For information, call toll free: ^ 1-800-268-3735 Sports historian Bill Humber, with his book on the history of baseball in Canada. The book, which includes 100 photographs illustrating the back ground of the sport in all provinces and ritories, has been five years in the making. ter- However, Bowmanville has had a strong baseball history. For example in 1877, the town placed third in the Canadian amateur championships. Then there was an allblack allblack barnstorming team which came to town in 1949 and actually lost to the Bowmanville Bowmanville All-Stars. The development of railroads railroads in Canada made baseball possible, sincè transportation to most small towns was excellent. In addition, the telegraph could keep the population posted on the latest scores when the home team was playing one of its road games. Baseball is a game which thrives on statistics and the reader of Cheering for the , Home Team will find plenty of facts and figures. For example, Canada has provided the major leagues with a total of 143 players since the 1870s. The first Canadian to join a major' league ball club was Bill Phillips, who played for Cleveland. The first black baseball player to ever be included on a trading card was a Canadian. He was Jimmy Claxton, a pitcher for the Oakland Oaks, of the Pacific Coast League. Claxton was born in New Westminster, B.C. The London Tecumsehs were invited to join the national national league in 1877, but declined the invitation. Had they accepted, Mr. Humber wonders if the Canadian sports scene would look much different today. Perhaps the traditional traditional sports of football and hockey would have been less popular if Canadian fans had been following their own national league team since the 1800s. The ladies also have a fascinating fascinating baseball history in Canada. In a photo from 1895, a serious-looking team of young women stare from one of the pages of the book. The team was from New Brunswick and all of its members were in dresses. A Canadian woman was the first batting champion of the All-American Girls' Baseball League formed by Bigger Pictures Plus Fast Accurate Service FREE! 5x7 Enlargement with every C41-110, 126-135 film processed. INSTANT PASSPORT PHOTOS OSHAWA CAMERA nr NT Pit LTD 728-4631 OSHAWA SHOPPING CENTRE I ACROSS THOM 1 Hi: PHONE CCNmiil P.K. Wrigley in 1943. She was Terry Davis, of Toronto, who hit .332 while' playing for the Rockford Peaches in what was the first women's major league. Compiling all of this information information on Canada's colorful colorful baseball past is only an avocation for Bill Humber. His full time re- sponsiblity is that of co-ordinator co-ordinator of continuing education education at Seneca College. At Seneca, he has also taught an annual course entitled entitled "baseball spring training for fans." This program attracts between 40 and 50 students of the sport each year. Bill Humber agrees that his book, published by Boston Boston Mills Press, will be helped by the success of the Blue Jays and the Expos this baseball season. The performance of both teams has created greater interest in baseball and there should be more fans who want to know about the early stages of their sport in Canada. But Mr. Humber is also expecting that the history will stand the test of time. "It's the kind of book that's going to be topical five years from now," he adds. Baseball fans may have also encountered Bowman- ville's sports historian on the TV and radio broadcasts broadcasts of the Blue Jay games. He watches many of them from the press box and he has been a guest on both the radio show, which is hosted by Tom Cheek, and the TV broadcasts by Don Chevrier and Tony Kubek. In addition, Mr. Humber has produced a series of six baseball histories based on material from his book. These have been sponsored by TV Labatt's and they can be used during breaks in the game or whenever a broadcast ends earlier than expected. Cheering for the Home Team is available in Bow manville at Rickaby's Ltd. It is also being sold at Coles Book Stores and at W.H.Smilh Book Stores as well as a number of other outlets in Toronto and vicinity. vicinity. While this is his first book-length work, the Bowmanville Bowmanville author is hoping to turn his literary career into a double play. A second book on the subject subject of the history of cycling in Canada is already under way, Mr. Humber said. tjm. ;,.jo «--ITHERE'S MOfi G FlITIM m A f?f|7 Jf ! "X -Muni; %w: .... HOME OF THE FUEL ECONOMY CAR. 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