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BEESTON, GASTON AMONG SIX NEW CANADIAN BASEBALL HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM INDUCTEESSt. Marys - The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (CBHFM) announced today that Paul Beeston and Cito Gaston will be among its six new inductees in 2002. Don McDougall (former Labatt's president was driving force behind creation of Toronto Blue Jays franchise), Dave Shury (architect of Baseball Canada and the Saskatchewan Baseball Association), the late Harry Simmons (assisted in securing Montreal Expos franchise, MLB schedule-maker, and author of "So You Think You Know Baseball"), and Bill Slack (coaching guru has had 50 seasons in professional baseball) will be honoured with the two Blue Jay legends in a ceremony on June 22nd at the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ontario. “What excites me is the diversity of this year’s inductees,” says Tom Valcke, CBHFM president and CEO. “We have four Canadians who – each in their own distinct way – have had a tremendously positive impact on baseball in this country (Beeston, McDougall, Shury and Slack) and two ‘adopted’ Canadians who have been equally influential (Gaston and Simmons).” Paul Beeston, the first employee ever hired by the Toronto Blue Jays, spent more than 20 years with the organization – rising through the ranks to become team president and COO in 1989. The Welland, Ontario native’s great people skills helped the Blue Jays land marquis free agents such as Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor – both integral parts of their World Series championship teams in 1992 and 1993. He was voted “Canadian Baseball Man Of The Year” in 1994. Beeston left the Blue Jays in 1997 to become thepresident and COO of Major League Baseball’s President and Chief Operating Officer in 1997 – a post he still holds today. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1998. Cito Gaston is another name that has become synonymous with the Toronto Blue Jays. Originally hired as a batting instructor in 1981, Gaston is best known for his tenure as manager (1989 to 1997) that saw him pilot the Blue Jays to four American League East titles and two World Series championships. His success earned him the “Canadian Baseball Man Of The Year” award in 1989, “The Sporting News Sportsman Of The Year” (along with Pat Gillick) in 1993 and a spot in the “Blue Jays Level Of Excellence” in 1999. He served as the Blue Jays hitting coach for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, and recently was named Special Advisor to Blue Jays president Paul Godfrey. Without Prince Edward Island native Don McDougall, Major League Baseball may not have come to Toronto. Serving as president of Labatt Breweries in the mid-1970s, part of his mandate was to secure a Major League Baseball team for Labatt’s and the city of Toronto. His efforts were a lesson in perseverance – first overcoming a failed attempt to move the San Francisco Giants franchise to Toronto and then having to stave off a bid from another group of Toronto businessmen. He worked tirelessly for several years to realize his goal, and hired Paul Beeston to run the Blue Jays. McDougall now owns Stratford-based Novatronics, a leading supplier of motor accessories to the global aerospace industry. Dave Shury is considered one of the architects of Baseball Canada. After playing a key role in the development of the Saskatchewan Baseball Association, the Wilkie, Saskatchewan native became involved with the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball (CFAB, now Baseball Canada) in 1967. He soon discovered the organization was virtually penniless and borrowed $500 from his own law practice to pay for a conference call linking CFAB representatives across Canada. During the call, Shury was appointed CFAB secretary. One of their first orders of business was to put together Canada’s first National Senior Baseball Team that competed in the Long-time Montreal resident Harry Simmons was a baseball executive, historian, writer, schedule-maker, and authority on the rules of the game. After working under Frank Shaughnessy as Secretary of the International League for 20 years, which included handling their public relations when Jackie Robinson played in 1946, Simmons assisted Gerry Snyder and John McHale in obtaining the Montreal Expos franchise. He is considered a pioneer in schedule making; as he prepared schedules for both the International League and Major League Baseball before the age of computers. Simmons is, perhaps, best known for his “So You Think You Know Baseball” column that ran in the Saturday Evening Post from 1949 to 1961. He later wrote a best-selling book of the same name that sold over 500,000 copies. Simmons’ career was honoured when he was named “King of Baseball” at baseball’s winter meetings in 1979 – a title given out annually to an individual who has made a major contribution to baseball. Simmons maintained a residence in Montreal until 1995, and passed away in 1998 at the age of 90. The 2001 season was the 50th anniversary in professional baseball for Bill Slack, who was born in Petrolia, Ontario and moved to Sarnia at age six. Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an 18-year-old pitcher in 1951, he made it as high as Class AAA before retiring as a player at age 29. When his playing career was over, he managed in the Red Sox organization for 15 seasons – leading his teams to championships four times. While in the Red Sox organization, he played a prominent role in the development of major league greats including Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, Dwight Evans, Bill Lee, Fred Lynn, Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg, and threw batting practice to his friend Ted Williams. After 33 years with the Red Sox organization, Hank Aaron brought Slack to the Atlanta Braves’ organization in 1984 where he helped mould Tom Glavine and John Smoltz into Cy Young Award winners. Two years ago, Slack was hired by fellow Canadian Doug Melvin, the Texas Rangers GM, to serve as their pitching coordinator. Slack will return to the Carolina League in 2002, where he is the all-time winningest manager with over 1,000 wins, to coach the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Single A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is located in St. Marys, Ontario, about 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Toronto. The museum celebrates the rich history of Canadian baseball that goes back more than 160 years. Previous inductees include: Fergie Jenkins, Pat Gillick, Terry Puhl, Reggie Cleveland, Ron Taylor, Jim Fanning, Dave McKay and Gary Carter. 2002 Inductee Contacts: For more information, contact: Email: baseball@baseballhalloffame.ca Website: www.baseballhalloffame.ca February 25, 2002 |
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