Although it no longer fields a team, St. Thomas has a lengthy history with the Intercounty Baseball League.
They began play in 1948 as St. Thomas Legion and were renamed the Elgins in 1953.
Baseball author and former player Paul Allen is holding an illustrated talk about the Intercounty and the Negro League players who came north to join clubs.
His new book is Bright Lights, Black Stars, featuring a foreword by former Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos hurler, Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee.
It’s the story of the Negro League players who, in the 1940s, came to play in Canada’s oldest baseball league.
Allen tells myFM about the nature of his talk.
Allen is also the author of When Tobacco Was King, a crop that flourished for many years in Elgin county.
And, of course, he will spend time talking about the long ball, also known as a tater.
Come and hear about the legendary stars of the Intercounty Baseball League including Tommy White, selected as one of the Top 100 of all time.
It’s a little known fact, but the record for the longest home run in the Intercounty Baseball League is held by retired teacher Paul Allen, who played in the league from 1963 to 1971.
The Ottawa-based author tells myFM the back story to the home run and, spoiler alert, it has a comical twist.
Allen will be speaking 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Elgin County Heritage Centre, 460 Sunset Drive.
Written by Ian McCallum
