Majors' Alumni News

AUGUST 27TH, 2021 is London Majors Alumni Day at Labatt Memorial Park, THE OLDEST BASEBALL GROUNDS IN THE WORLD. PRE-GAME CEREMONIES: 7:15 PM, GAME TIME - 7: 40 PM

AGENDA: 1} PRESENTATION OF THE TWO PLAQUES TO COMMEMORATE THE 1948 LONDON MAJORS VICTORY OVER THE USA/ FORT WAYNE GENERALS TO WIN THE CANADA-USA BASEBALL CONGESS CHAMPIONSHIP.

* IT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE ONLY TIME A CANADIAN TEAM BEAT THE USA TO WIN THIS VERY PRESTIGIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP.

** NINETY-EIGHT JACK FAIRS, THE ONLY LIVING MEMBER FROM THE 1948 TEAM IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND THE UNVEILING OF THE 1948 PLAQUES.

2} LONDON MAJORS HALL OF FAME - PLAYER INDUCTIONS. The following 4 players will be inducted into the ' London Majors Hall of Fame:

* Dave Lapthorne - 1960 to 1976

* Brian Pearen - 1960 to 1970

* Barry Boughner - 1966 to 1980 and 1984 and 1985.

* Phil Schmidt - 1973 to 1976 and 1981 and 1982.

* Larry Haggitt and Brian Murphy were going to be inducted into the London Majors Hall of Fame as well however, they cannot attend this year's ceremony. They will be inducted in the future when they can attend.

MORE LONDON MAJORS HISTORICAL FACTS RE: ALL-STAR TEAM SELECTIONS.

1} Only 9 London Majors Players made 4 or more All-Star teams:

- Stan 'Gabby ' Anderson - 7 first teams .....................................................7 - Arden Eddie - 1 first team and 6 second teams ................. 7

- Dave Byers .................. 4 first teams and 2 second teams ................. . 6

- Richard Thompson ........- 4 first teams and 2 second teams .................. 6

- Barry Boughner ............ 3 first teams and 1 second team .................... 4

- Dave Lapthorne ............. 3 first teams and 1 second team ................... 4

- Jon Owen ....................... 1 first team and 3 second teams ..................... 4

- Brian Pearen ...................2 first teams and 2 second teams ................... 4

- Kyle Piwowarczyk .......... 2 first teams and 2 second teams ................... 4

2} Only 6 London Majors Players made the FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM 3 or more times:

- Stan ' Gabby ' Anderson - 7 - OF

- Dave Byers ................... 4 - short stop

- Richard Thompson ........ 4 - OF

- Barry Boughner ............. 3 - third base, second base & designated hitter.

- Dave Lapthorne ............. 3 - third base & first base

- Don Mayes ................... 3 - third base

GET THERE BY 6:15PM. THERE'S LOTS TO SEE IN THE ROY McKAY CLUBHOUSE. MEET THE GUYS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN FOR YEARS. READ THE HISTORICAL STORY BOARDS @ THE PARK.

Sympathies are extended to the wife (Glenda), family (sons Neal and Nathan and daughter Joanna) and many friends of former London Majors' all-star catcher and manager (1966-1989, 24 seasons in total), Wayne Fenlon, retired jersey #9, who passed away in the Strathroy hospital on Saturday, May 1, 2021 after surgery for a broken hip from a recent fall.

Wayne Fenlon, 73, was an executive member of the London Majors' Alumni Association, named by the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) in 2018 as one of the Top 100 IBL Players of All-Time and a key member of the Sr. IBL Champion London Pontiacs in 1969 and the Sr. IBL Champion London Majors in 1975. In 2015, the '75 Majors were inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame.

PHOTO: Glenda and Wayne Fenlon in 2018 with Wayne's Rawling's Gold Bat from the IBL. Photo by Matt Hiscox.

https://www.londonmajors.com/gold-bat-club

Heritage Sugar Maple Tree at Labatt Park, CBC Radio One London, May 10, 2019.

Catcher Stan (Tubby) Jones, 95, with the IBL Championship Trophy, 1920-1956, he won with the 1943 London Army Team. PHOTO: Alisia Stewart, April 13, 2019.

Stan's 1943 London Army Team also won the Senior 'A' OBA and Canadian Baseball Congress Championships.

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If you have any photographs, newspaper clippings or memories related to London Majors' team history that you are willing to share, please contact Majors' Alumni Chairperson Barry Boughner at: E-MAIL ~ barry.boughner7ATgmail.com or CELL ~ 519.777.1337.

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IBL's Holy Grail, 1920-1956. PHOTO: Ron Gervais.

CTV London, 1.44 minute News clip re: IBL Championship Trophy, 1920-1956, April 22, 2019:

https://london.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1665741

LEFT TO RIGHT: Former London Majors' catcher Jack Fairs, Jack Colman's daughter Sandy Wagter and former left-handed Majors' pitcher Dave (Dutch) Perkins with the IBL Championship Trophy, 1920-1956.

Jack Fairs played on the IBL Champion 1948 and 1951 London Majors, and Dave Perkins played on the IBL Champion 1951 and 1956 London Majors. Sandy Wagter, who's family has had the trophy for 63 years, recently donated the trophy to the London Majors' Alumni Association. All three (Jack, Dave and Sandy) are retired educators: Jack Fairs (Western University), Sandy Wagter (London elementary school teacher) and Dave Perkins (shop teacher at Beal Secondary School). PHOTO: Ron Gervais, April 15, 2019.

Historical IBL Championship Trophy Resurfaces after 63 Years

By Barry Wells, Founder (1993), Friends of Labatt Park

BREAKING (April 4, 2019): The London Majors' Alumni Association has found the Intercounty Baseball League Championship Trophy (shown above in photos by Ron Gervais) that was in use by the IBL from 1920-1956. The London Majors were the last IBL team to win this championship trophy in 1956.

Thanks to historian Stephen Harding's local contacts, Sandy Wagter ~ a niece of Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Colman and daughter of Jack Colman, co-owners of the London Majors from 1956 to early 1960 ~ donated the historic trophy to the London Majors' Alumni Association on April 3, 2019, hoping it can be put on public display at Labatt Park.

"The trophy was in my mother's basement for years, then she passed away in 1990," says Sandy Wagter, "so I took the trophy because I've always been interested in the history side of baseball at Labatt Park. I remember working in the small concession booth near the clubhouse when my father and uncle had the team. Later, I was a pitcher in one of the ladies' city leagues."

Alumni chairperson Barry Boughner, who loves discovering London Majors and IBL history, says "It's incredible the trophy has resurfaced after 63 years. It's called the 'Ontario Cup' but it's the IBL Championship trophy sponsored by the Ontario Auto Spring & Supply Company in Guelph, Ontario."

Since 1992, the IBL Championship Trophy has been the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy. Prior to that, from 1957 to 1991, it was known as the Carling Red Cap Cup.

Frank and Jack Colman's London Majors won the Sr. IBL Championship in 1956, then competed in the Great Lakes-Niagara District Baseball League for one season in 1957 and won that championship as well before returning to the Sr. IBL in 1958. Why the trophy remained in London after 1956 and why London left the IBL for a season in 1957, remain mysteries.

Guelph won the IBL Championship as the Guelph Partridge Rubber Company in 1919 ~ the IBL's first year of operation ~ with Guelph repeating as champions in 1920 as the Guelph Spring and Axle Company and again in 1921 as the Guelph Maple Leafs.

The London Braves won the IBL Championship in 1925 (London's first year in the IBL), the London Winery won the IBL Championship in 1936, the London Silverwoods won the title in 1937, the London Army won it in 1943 and the London Majors won the cup in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1951 and 1956. All championship teams are documented on the 1920-1956 IBL Trophy.

Frank L. Colman (1918-1983) was co-owner of the London Majors with his brother Jack from 1956 to early 1960. Frank was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and the London Sports Hall of Fame in 2005:
http://baseballhalloffame.ca/blog/2009/09/17/frank-colman/
http://londonsportshalloffame.com/inductees/frank-colman/
LEFT TO RIGHT: James Russell, Londoner Frank Colman and Honus Wagner at Pittsburgh Pirates' Spring Training in Muncie, Indiana on March 18, 1943.

The 1956 London Majors, co-owned by brothers Frank and Jack Colman, are the last IBL team to win the recently discovered 1920-1956 Sr. IBL Championship Trophy, 63 years ago. PHOTO: Victor Aziz Sr.

BACK ROW (L-R): Norman J. Aldridge (Coach-Trainer), Russ Evon, Gord McMackon, Don McLennan, Ray Yelle, Bob Simpson, Roy McKay, Jerry Wilson, A. Potter, Jack Colman.
MIDDLE ROW: Don Mayes, D. Simpson, David Perkins, J. Hood, Les Thomas, Larry Dixon, W. LeNeave, C. Morris.
FRONT ROW: Frank Colman, L. MacDonald, D. Strain (bat boy). ABSENT: Dale Creighton.
Left-handed Pitcher Dave (Dutch) Perkins is believed to be the last man standing from the 1956 London Majors.

Jack Colman (1916-1962) was co-owner of the London Majors with his famous brother Frank from 1956 to early 1960. Jack Colman, a building contractor, passed away prematurely at age 46 after a fall from a building he was working on. PHOTO: 1956 London Majors' program.

The London Braves won the IBL Championship in 1925 (London's first year in the IBL), the London Winery won the IBL Championship in 1936, the London Silverwoods won the title in 1937, the London Army won it in 1943 and the London Majors won the cup in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1951 and 1956. All championship teams are documented on the 1920-1956 IBL Trophy.