{"id":64757,"date":"2022-01-13T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T16:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=64757"},"modified":"2022-01-13T22:48:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T03:48:25","slug":"spacings-new-book-souvenirs-of-toronto-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2022\/01\/13\/spacings-new-book-souvenirs-of-toronto-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"SPACING’S NEW BOOK: Souvenirs of Toronto Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spacing is happy to announce the release of our tenth book, Souvenirs of Toronto Sports: Stories Inspired by the City\u2019s Athletic Memorabilia<\/em>. You can purchase it through the Spacing Store web site<\/a> or visit the shop at 401 Richmond St. West.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sports have been so omnipresent in my life that my earliest memories involve them. My father was a professional boat racer when I was born, so I spent the weekends during my toddler years on beaches watching hydroplane boats zoom around. He became both my soccer and hockey coach when I was six and would remain in that position until I graduated high school, guiding my teams to the highest competitive levels in those youth leagues. As head coach, he collected items from exhibition games, tournaments, playoffs, you name it.<\/p>\n

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Crests and patches from 1980s hockey tournaments I participated in.<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His knack for finding small but meaningful keepsakes was passed down to me, both literally and figuratively. When I turned 40, he gave me a package of those items which are now a part of my own collection of souvenirs. I started the same tradition with my son when we created the \u201cBig Box of Fitz,\u201d where he\u2019s collecting his own batch of sporting memories.<\/p>\n

Over the years, whenever I\u2019ve moved out of a place, I\u2019ve used the occasion to purge some of the items I\u2019ve collected during my time there, but I usually take the opportunity to look though the things I\u2019ve previously chosen to keep. For 25 years \u2014 from my parents\u2019 home to nine different apartments to finally my own house \u2014 I never discarded any of the sports souvenirs or memorabilia from my youth. Medals, patches, pins, tickets, programmes, even trophies….<\/p>\n

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A few of the trophies I won in my youth.<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon seeing these objects again, I\u2019m quickly transported to another time in my life, conjuring up old victories with friends. When I was researching my previous books for Spacing, I often came across unique athletic items within the City of Toronto\u2019s artifact collection that would stir up similar nostalgic feelings. The more I dug, the more amazing items I found from important events and eras of the city\u2019s past. From Ned Hanlan\u2019s oar to the first ticket to the Blue Jays at the SkyDome to the woollen jersey of Doris Butwell, the souvenirs in this book give us a glimpse into the lives of Torontonians from years past. Part of living in a city is the shared experience of cheering on local sports teams \u2014 the memorabilia from games, events, and clubs act as a portal to those long-forgotten moments.<\/p>\n

Throughout the last year, I have worked in tandem with City of Toronto chief curator emeritus Wayne Reeves to comb through the City\u2019s collection of over 150,000 artifacts to find items to inspire our stable of writers to share stories of the city\u2019s athletic history. Here is a breakdown of the book’s primary chapters:<\/p>\n