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Step up to the plate and discover the fascinating history of professional baseball in Toronto.
Did you know that Babe Ruth, who hit his only minor league home run at Hanlan’s Point in 1914, homered several times in Toronto as a member of the New York Yankees? Or that in the same year, the city was home to not one but two professional baseball teams — the Maple Leafs and the Beavers? How about that Toronto hosted a regular season big-league game in 1932 or that in 1943, the city’s own All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player, Gladys Davis, made history as the league’s first batting champion?
In this captivating journey through Toronto’s rich baseball past, you’ll dive into these and other events, learning about the city’s professional baseball scene and trailblazers before its major league team launched in 1977.
Did you know that Babe Ruth, who hit his only minor league home run at Hanlan’s Point in 1914, homered several times in Toronto as a member of the New York Yankees? Or that in the same year, the city was home to not one but two professional baseball teams — the Maple Leafs and the Beavers? How about that Toronto hosted a regular season big-league game in 1932 or that in 1943, the city’s own All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player, Gladys Davis, made history as the league’s first batting champion?
In this captivating journey through Toronto’s rich baseball past, you’ll dive into these and other events, learning about the city’s professional baseball scene and trailblazers before its major league team launched in 1977.
Price: $22.99
Pages: 312
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
24 February 2026
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781459755642
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / History, Baseball, HISTORY / Canada / Provincial, Territorial & Local / Ontario (ON), HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General
Harvey Sahker’s affectionate remembrance of professional baseball’s deep roots in Toronto is sure to amaze even diehard Blue Jays fans.
Harvey Sahker's baseball stories have adorned the pages of publications in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and South Africa. Harvey has dabbled in baseball broadcasting, coaching, and umpiring and has played amateur ball since the late 1980s. He lives in Toronto.
- Part I — Home Sweet Home
- Strange Place for a Diamond
- Toronto Ballparks and Teams
- Part II — Baseball Royalty Comes to Town
- Overmatched — Pros vs. Amateurs
- “All Pro” Exhibitions
- The Court Jester
- Part III — Black Baseball in Toronto
- Nastiness at Sunlight Park
- Negro League Games
- Jackie Comes to Town
- Part IV — Trainers
- The Daly Show
- In Smitty’s Time
- Part V — Three Batboys and The Boss’s Kid
- Ron Stead, Batboy
- John Bukowski, Batboy
- Bill Park, Batboy
- Bob Hunter, the Boss’s Kid
- Part VI — The Homebrews
- Dick Fowler and the First “No-No”
- Alex Hardy — Dooney
- Will Jeffers — In a Fishbowl
- Knotty Lee — Not Dead Yet
- Charles Lucas — "Steamer"
- James McKinley, Homesick Hurler
- Bill O’Hara — Stole ’Em All
- Bob Prentice — Bitter Coffee
- Frank Repchik — Blanked Braves
- Goody Rosen, Fan Favourite
- Rolf Scheel — Baseball über Alles
- Part VII — Other Torontonians
- Jimmy Archer, Early Squatter
- Vince Barton, Outlaw
- Doug Beckett — From BP to AAA
- Gladys Davis — The Scarlet Pimpernelle
- Doug Gostlin — "Goose"
- John Hiller, Comeback Kid
- Yip Owens — The All-Ugly Club
- William Summers — Billy the Kid
- Ron Taylor — Doctor, Engineer
- Oscar Tuero, Havana Heaver
- Jimmy Williams, Traveller
- Flatbush Farmhands Aplenty
- Part VIII — Tales of Woe
- Arthur Irwin — Bigamist
- Harry Decker — Inventor, Crook
- Vallie Eaves — Sozzled
- Len Koenecke — A Sad Fate
- Epilogue — Bridging the Gap