Organizers of a baseball game that honoured the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars are already eyeing the possibility of hosting another event.
On Saturday, the Field of Honour took place at Rotary Park in Chatham. The game honoured the All-Stars, a team of athletes who were the first black team to win an Ontario Baseball Association title, and featured descendants of some of the team members.
President of the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society Board of Directors Dorothy Wright-Wallace said the event was a success and saw a great turnout.
"It was so nice to see so many people of the neighbourhood getting together to play the game of baseball," she said. "Everybody seemed to be happy. We couldn't have asked for more."
Lead event organizer Brock Greenhalgh echoed Wright-Wallace's statements and said he was thrilled with the event and how many people showed up to support it.
According to Greenhalgh, a total of around 600 fans came to watch the game, which featured two teams made up of 30 descendants of the All-Stars.
"When you do something like this, you never know, because this is the first time something like this has been done," he said. "But to see the turnout from the community was absolutely amazing."
The 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars started as a group of friends playing baseball in Stirling Park in Chatham. The team was faced with many incidents of discrimination and racism both on and off the field including threats of violence. The team also played over a decade before Jackie Robinson broke Major Leagues Baseball’s colour barrier in 1947.
During Saturday's event, a new commemorative plaque was unveiled by the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame that honours the team and will sit in the garden at Rotary Park.
"It's absolutely gorgeous. We had a presentation before the game began. It gave a chance for the community to say 'thank you' to those who were involved in the team way back when," Greenhalgh explained. "It's a great legacy for the community to have that rock in the garden there. People can come and read it and learn a little more history about the city of Chatham."
Entry to watch the game was by donation. According to Wright-Wallace, they are still tallying up how much money was raised.
She said the donations will be used in many different ways to help the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society & Black Mecca Museum.
"We are really pushing children's books, we've been into that lately. Also, we're looking to get a new display case if possible. If not, it will be used mainly for things here that we need," she said.
With such a good turnout and good feedback, the pair are both hoping that the first Field of Honour game won't be the last.
Greenhalgh, who also wrote a book about the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, has been an advocate for getting the team inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
According to Greenhalgh, the public should learn whether or not the team has been inducted sometime in early 2022. He's hoping the next game will be to celebrate the team's induction.
If that doesn't happen, Greenhalgh said he will continue his push to see them get a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame and see them formally recognized for the obstacles they faced and their triumphs.
"I think it's important to keep going and rally other people to keep going in support of that," he said.
Recently, The 519 Podcast examined the story of the Chatham Coloured All Stars. You can listen to the episode by clicking here.
