A new plaque honouring the site of Babe Ruth’s first professional home run will be unveiled in a ceremony held at Hanlan’s Point on September 19. Toronto author Jerry Amernic, whose novel, Gift of the Bambino, is based on the 92 year-old long ball, has led the effort to have the event officially commemorated.
The home run occurred on September 5, 1914 in the sixth inning of a minor league game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the visiting Providence Grays at Maple Leaf Park on Toronto Island. The stadium was demolished in 1937 and there are few signs of it remaining, but legend has it that a part of Toronto’s heritage sits where nobody has been able to touch it: The ball was hit out of the stadium and landed in Toronto Harbour, where it is believed to remain to this day.
The plaque will be installed by Heritage Toronto, an underfunded arms-length organization of the City of Toronto that is responsible for the city-wide “Plaques and Markers” program.” The program is applicant-based, meaning that citizens are usually expected to put forth project proposals and supply funding for the full cost of the plaques, due to the “limited financial resources” of Heritage Toronto.
— Josh Hume
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Josh Hume will be covering heritage preservation and the mayoral candidates during the 2006 election for the Spacing Votes blog.
6 comments
has there ever been a proposal to put a public (i.e. not an MLSE-Rogers) ballpark there? I think that would be an appropriate memorial… a “Babe Ruth Memorial Ball Park” might even bring tourists to the islands…
i gotta get me that ball! anyone have any diving equipment?
But the kids ain’t playing bball anymore — a soccer field would be more appropriate for toronto. “the babe ruth memorial soccer pitch”. that would be weird and nice.
Shawn
The same could be said (and was said in the Star I think) about soccer in Flemingdon Park where those living there would prefer a cricket pitch. Personally the gaps I would address first are a speed skating oval (since Cindy Klassen wannabees are unwanted by hockey rinks) and some more Olympic size swimming pools but in this case I think a bball diamond is the way to go.
There’s a big difference between putting a sports field on a piece of ground with no significance and on somewhere where (according to baseball fanatics) an event of great significance occurred. I find it kinda odd that you (given your writing) would make the comment above actually – not chain yanking are you?
Not chain yanking — i was saying it with a sigh though (but sighs don’t translate well in quick blog comments). I just had an image of the baseball diamond there, and nobody playing on it.
Though now that i think about it, the diamond in Little Norway Park across the water seems well used….so maybe.
Hmmm i’d go for skaking ovals. We also need a luge track (still not chain yanking). I bet there are 10 or 14 luge champions living in the city, with no place to find out.
hmm… a luge track through the Don Valley – admire the scenery as you hurtle on your crazy ass way 🙂
Perhaps the four school boards and the private colleges could offer combined programs to make use of city-wide facilities for minority sport.
It’s a pity that Toronto feels it can’t expand sports provision unless MLSE is involved or an Olympic bid. There should be a sports plan to gradually but steadily widen the availability of venues so that Toronto could easily host a Commonwealth Games as a springboard to a later Olympic bid rather than building a huge, unsustainable burst of facilities which will collapse like a souffle after the event.
As for a baseball diamond – maybe David Wells would help raise money… apparently he’s a Babe nut.
http://www.baberuth.com/flash/about/viewheadline.php?id=1886