Chatham Coloured All-Stars Shunned By Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame named their 2022 induction class on February 2. The “class” was a single person, former professional baseball player Jeff Francis.

The announcement, made during Black History Month, was met with immediate disappointment and sadness from members of the Chatham-Kent Black community, family members, and local supporter.

Running from 1932 until 1939, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars were the first all-Black baseball team to win a provincial championship in Canada.

The All-Stars completed that feat winning an Ontario Intermediate ‘B’ title in 1934.

Stars of the team were Chatham Sports Hall of Fame member Wilfred ‘Boomer’ Harding and Earl ‘Flat’ Chase, and included prominent names such as Don Washington, King Terrell, Gouy Ladd, and Ferguson Jenkins Sr, among others.

In 2003, the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame inducted the All-Stars. This past summer, the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame also unveiled a permanent monument to the team, which is on display at Fergie Jenkins Field in Chatham. The monument unveiling occurred at the Chatham Coloured All-Stars “Field of Honour” game which featured two teams of All-Stars ancestors competing against each other.