By Ryan Drury CKNX NEWS TODAY
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys hosted a virtual induction and awards ceremony on November 16th.
The Hall celebrated the class of 2021, which consists of 16 individuals and one team. Along with the induction ceremony, the winners of the 2019 and 2020 Jack Graney Award, handed out annually for media excellence, and the James Tip O’Neill Award, which is presented to the top Canadian player each year, were honoured. The class of 2021 includes the induction of the 1877 London Tecumsehs, the International Association championship-winning team from London, Ontario.
The 16 individual inductees, all of whom are deceased, and one team were selected by a six-person Committee comprised of Canadian baseball historians from across the country.
“We are excited and proud to celebrate such an important and diverse group of trailblazers and pioneers of Canadian baseball,” says Jeremy Diamond, the chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors. “Their induction will ensure that the profound impact they have had on baseball in our country will live on and be shared in our museum for future generations.”
The 2021 inductees are:
Bob Addy, player, Port Hope, Ont.
James F. Cairns, executive, Lawrenceville, Que.
Helen Callaghan, player, Vancouver, B.C.
Jimmy Claxton, player, Wellington, B.C.
Charlie Culver, player and manager, Buffalo, N.Y.
William Galloway, player, Buffalo, N.Y.
Roland Gladu, player and scout, Montreal, Que.
Vern Handrahan, player, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Manny McIntyre, player, Devon, N.B.
Joe Page, executive, London, England
Ernie Quigley, umpire, Newcastle, N.B.
Hector Racine, executive, La Prairie, Que.
Jimmy Rattlesnake, player, Hobbema (Maskwacis), Alta.
Jean-Pierre Roy, player and broadcaster, Montreal, Que.
Fred Thomas, player, Windsor, Ont.
Roy Yamamura, player and executive, Vancouver, B.C.
1877 London Tecumsehs, International Association championship-winning team, London, Ont.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2020, which consists of former players Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.), Duane Ward, John Olerud and legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet, will be inducted separately in an in-person ceremony in St. Marys on June 18th, 2022.
Jack Graney Award winners
2019 – Ken Fidlin, Toronto Sun
After beginning his journalism career with the Woodstock Sentinel Review, Fidlin enjoyed tenures as a sportswriter with the Kingston Whig-Standard, Ottawa Journal and Ottawa Today before being hired by the Toronto Sun in 1980. He proceeded to become a highly respected Blue Jays beat writer and columnist until he retired in 2016. In all, he spent 45 years as a sportswriter and had the opportunity to cover 20 World Series, two Stanley Cup championships, two Olympic Games, five Super Bowls and nine Grey Cups.
2020 – Dan Shulman, Blue Jays TV play-by-play commentator, Rogers Sportsnet
Shulman began his professional broadcasting career with CKBB, a Barrie, Ont., radio station, in 1990 and in 1991 he moved on to the FAN 1430 (now Sportsnet 590 The FAN). In 1995, he began serving as the Blue Jays’ play-by-play commentator on TSN and also worked part-time for ESPN. He joined ESPN full-time in 2001 and was the voice of Wednesday Night Baseball from 2002 to 2007, Monday Night Baseball from 2008 to 2010 and Sunday Night Baseball from 2011 to 2017. The Toronto native has now been calling MLB postseason games on the radio for ESPN since 1998 and World Series contests since 2011. Shulman returned to the Blue Jays TV crew in 2016 and has been calling games for Rogers Sportsnet.
James “Tip” O’Neill Award winners
2019 – Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves
In 2019, his first full major league season, Soroka posted a 13-4 record and a 2.68 ERA, while striking out 142 batters in 174-2/3 innings in 29 starts for the Braves. For his efforts, the Calgary, Alta., native was named to the National League All-Star team and a starting pitcher on Baseball America’s MLB All-Rookie team.
2020 – Jamie Romak, SSG Landers
In 2020, Romak batted .282 with 32 home runs in 139 games for the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). On top of his power numbers, the London, Ont., native also had 85 runs, recorded 32 doubles and walked 91 times, while registering a .546 slugging percentage and a .945 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).
