Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2013
2013 Induction Ceremony
If you are a baseball fan living in Ontario and haven’t been to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, do yourself a favour and check it out. The quiet little town of St Marys, situated an hour west of Kitchener is a picturesque place with quaint shops, century old homes, and large maple and cherry trees.
Early Saturday morning of the induction weekend, I had the opportunity to interview all of the inductees (Click Here To Listen To The Podcast), including Shirley Cheek, widow to the late Tom Cheek, who was also inducted.
Sitting down and chatting with Tim Raines, he shared his opinion on what makes a good leadoff man, and how the game has changed today.
Montreal Expos Speedster Tim Raines
Shirley Cheek shared with me that Tom had dreamed of being a broadcaster from the age of seven. He used to take a recorder to games and practice calling play-by-play. Tom Cheek called 4,306 consecutive Blue Jays games, before taking a day off for his father’s funeral in 2004. Tom passed away in 2005 from brain cancer. For an in-depth look at Tom Cheek’s career, read John Lott’s article here.
Shirley Cheek, wife to the late Tom Cheek
Rob Ducey, the only Canadian-born inductee of the group, was polite (as Canadians stereotypically are), soft-spoken, and had a great story about his first day in the big leagues, and some advice that George Bell had for him.
Former Blue Jay & Expo Rob Ducey
In 1987 he was the AL MVP, the only Toronto Blue Jays to have ever won the award. He had a big swing, and an even bigger personality, which still holds true today. George Bell claims that he can’t quite remember all the details from his 12 seasons in the MLB, but once you get him talking, it becomes apparent that he still has some very detailed memories from his career. This larger-than-life hall of famer was a lot of fun to spend time with.
1987 AL MVP George Bell
INDUCTION CEREMONY
Following the national anthems being sung by none other than critically acclaimed singer and actor Michael Burgess, Canadian sports announcer and emcee for the day, Rod Black took to the mic and immediately warmed the crowd:
Rod didn’t stop there (it must have been the Red Bull). He delivered a witty and hilarious speech on what it means to be Canadian:
Rod Black, Hall of Fame Inductees, Cito Gaston, Tom Henke
Following the ceremony, my wife and I headed off to the museum to look at the baseball memorabilia.
Induction Ceremony Bats
Tom Cheek Induction Ceremony Plaque
1940’s Pitching Machine
Jackie Robinson Memorabilia
My Wife Marta with the home plate Joe Carter crossed following his 1993 World Series winning walk-off home run.
The Blue Jays Dugout 
Reblogged this on The Cub Den and commented:
This has got be one of the greatest speeches given about being Canadian. Love it!
Thanks man I appreciate that! The podcast is up now, you can hear the interviews I did with them.
Brilliant post! I’m not a huge Rod Black fan, but man, did he give a great speech. I’ve reblogged your post onto The Cub Den.
what is george bell doing these days? Is he coaching anywhere?
He’s doing a lot of charity work, mainly in the Dominican.