The Ontario Southland on the St. Thomas sub passing thru Beachville FP9 in the lead,painted in a very attractive cream and maroon reminiscent of the TH&B, encounters the sign denoting the first recorded game of baseball played in Beachville in 1838. Everything here is classic!
Beachville Mile 4.0
6508_182 passing the Beachville Welcome sign.
From our great friend and historian.
http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1988/JSH1501/jsh1501e.pdf
Reading the account of the game in 1838 in the Appendix puts you right in the game. It is quite obvious they had a lot of fun. Complete with a diagram and others in the paper. Great read.
Here is a short bio on Adam Enoch Ford.
Adam Enoch Ford was born on his father’s farm in Zorra Township, Oxford County, Ontario in 1831. In his boyhood he developed an avid interest in the sports played in and around his locale, including cricket, baseball, curling, and shooting. He entered McGill University in 1848, and eventually graduated with a medical degree in 1855. Like other Beachville residents intent on improving their economic prospects, Ford moved to the newly settled village of St. Marys in adjacent Perth County. In St. Marys he established a medical practice and became active in community civic and sport affairs. Socially and financially prominent by virtue of marriage and personal initiative, Ford’s record of sport participation and organizational leadership characterize a man of zeal and dedication. In 1864 Ford chaired the annual May 24th festivities, a day typically celebrated in Ontario with community sporting events. He sat on the board of directors of the St. Marys Driving Park Association in 1871, a position he held for some five years; and in 1879 he sat on the managing committee of the local lacrosse club. A neophyte teenage curler in the 1840s, Ford eventually rose to the presidency of the St. Marys Curling Club in 1874. Histories of the Ontario Curling Association identify him as a dynamic force behind the organization’s creation in 1874-75. Ford’s description of curling matches played in 1848, 1860 and 1878, published in several early twentieth century volumes of the Ontario Curling Association Annual, are well known to historians of curling. They provide evidence of Ford’s astute powers of observation and recall. As well, they reflect his keen love of sport."
Interesting stuff, thank you for the sharing.
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Isn't 6508 an ex CN FP9?
And does that mean the first recorded baseball game was played in Canada?
I've never understood why Canadians don't play Cricket.....
Peter
M636C I've never understood why Canadians don't play Cricket..... Peter
Yes I think you are correct about it being an FP9. I will check but I believe I am in error calling it a F7.
With a large and growing immigrant population from India cricket is quite popular and organized in the large urban centres. However, it never took hold in any meaningful way before this. The author does mention playing cricket in Beachville way back in the day. I suppose Curling beat it out, because it involves a lot more drinking, smoking, cursing and shenanigans and what else you going to do over a long winter. Maybe the French had a hand in it... ok, curling is crazy fun but that cricket thing is too British, no way!
Never understood the game of Cricket .." well it was a close match with the final score 102 wickets to 0". Like whaaaat?
Had it explained to me 47 times but it goes in one ear and straight out the other for some reason.
Baseball is big big big in Southern Ontario. Football is big on the Prairies, Saskatchewan and Alberta, .. not your football, which is Soccer over here.
.. not your football, which is Soccer over here.
If you found cricket complex, don't think about football in Australia....
There are two versions of Rugby (Rugby Union and Rugby League, originally the first was amateur and the second professional, but they just compete with eachother now). In the Southern states there was Australian Football which was an ofshoot of Irish Gaelic Football. Australian Football and Rugby League are in a life and death struggle to be recognised as the "main game" in Australia. As well, of course we have Soccer which is called Soccer except by those involved that call it Football. There are even a few people who play American Football that is sometimes called "Gridiron".
Every year, Australia loses an international Rugby Union game called the "Bledisloe Cup" to New Zealand, whose team is partly made up of players resident in Australia playing in the Australian competition. New Zealand occupies the place related to Australia that Canada holds with respect to the USA.
Hence the saying: "I support two teams: Australia, and whoever is playing New Zealand".
Apart from the unkind comment about finishing a game, if baseball developed in parallel in the USA and Canada, it makes sense that that would be played rather than Cricket.
We receive 'Australian Rules Football' on our sports channels and you can wager on the games at a government run terminal ( Of course!), the catch being you have to bet a minimum of 3 games. We have Rugby over here, don't think it is anywhere near as advanced in organization and scope as in Australia. Looks like a pretty brutal game on the TV. I did play in High School, but shirts against skins kind of thing.
We also have Lacrosse, originated from Native North American Indians, which can also be a nasty game. Very popular at the college/university level. Lot of hockey players play Lacrosse in the summer months.
So you have football, football, and football. Rugby, Soccer and Gridiron. Got it!
New Zealand? Really? I suspect treachery, otherwise impossible. Maybe Zena, Warrior Princess, is the driving force.
I think I would swim to New Zealand non stop from Canada if she would go out with me!!
Just received this from HAL 9000 deep in the recesses of Long Island
Peter: This is for you! Courtesy of our Long Island friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwf_ClfQBUM
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