By: Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

Built along the sprawling banks of the Thames River, London, Ontario, has developed an impressive share of major league talent over the city’s 161 years.

It began with Tug Thompson, Billy Reid and Jon Morrison, who cut their teeth during the formative days of Major League Baseball in the 1880’s. These ball playing pioneers helped pave the way for Tom Burgess, Steve Dunn and Oscar Judd in the mid 20th century, who, in turn, passed the torch to recent standouts such as Adam Stern, Chris Robinson and Jamie Romak.

Rivaled only by Toronto (26), the Forest City has produced a total of 15 Ontarians who have gone on to crack major league rosters. Of these 15, few have had the same kind of impact that the late Stanley Anderson had on his community.

Although Anderson --or “Gabby” as those familiar with the hard hitting outfielder often referred to him as-- never reached the major leagues, his contributions to London’s long-standing history in professional baseball remain among the most dignified.

Growing up on city’s east side, Anderson took an advanced interest in baseball after seeing his uncle and father suit up for a local Negro League club in the early 1930’s. At five years old, he was enrolled on a local playground system at St Julien Park and it was on those dusty back fields where the Detroit-born outfielder first began to excel on the diamond.  

As an 18 year-old, Anderson was called up to the London Majors while the club was in the midst of defending their league championship against the Waterloo Tigers. Although he received a less than generous amount of playing time in the series, the hard-hitting teenager was grateful for the experience.

“Manager Clare Van Horne used to bring me up from junior ball to pinch run and pinch hit. I remember the 1948 series well” explained Gabby during an interview with LondonOntarioSports.com’s Jeffrey Reed.

“We all knew that it was quite a team.” recalled Anderson in an interview with AtThePlate.com. “You could learn a lot of baseball from those guys, just being there.”

Three years following a brief stint with his hometown Majors, Anderson was awarded his first crack at professional baseball when he signed with Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League’s Olean Oilers in 1950. 

Suiting up along side future major leaguers in Chuck Harmon and Len Schulte, Anderson appeared in 114 games in his first season with the Oil, hitting a respectable .335 with 26 doubles, three triples and five round-trippers for the 71-54 club. His efforts were recognized when the northern import beat out Batavia’s Robert Aiello in the PONY league’s Rookie-of-the-Year voting that fall.

In 1955, Anderson cut short his minor league career in order to serve in the United States Army. Upon his return to the civilian life, he opted to relocate back to London and join the Majors as a full-time player ahead of the 1957 season.

For the next decade, Gabby was a mainstay in the Majors lineup while collecting numerous accolades on a near annual basis.

A favorite amongst teammates, he twice led the league in batting average, was named the IBL’s Most Valuable Player in 1959 and led the circuit in both home runs and doubles on separate occasions.

It was during his second stint with the majors that, under former major leaguer (and Majors bench boss) Frank Colman, Anderson became one of the founding members of the Eager Beaver Baseball Association (EEBA), London’s version of little league.

For a lifetime of dedication to both the game and his community, Anderson was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. The honor was received seven years after the Majors formally retired his number 5 during a ceremony held at historic Labatt Park in 2001.

At the age of 87, Stan “Gabby” Anderson passed away on June 7th, 2016.  Although gone, his spirit and unwavering love of baseball lives on in the hearts of family and fans alike.

For those wishing to make a donation in memory of Gabby, the Anderson family has asked to consider The Kidney Foundation of Canada.