Elliott: Heather Connolly helped return Wilken's Series ring

Long-time Blue Jays employee Heather Connolly and her son Jonathan sitting on a bench on the second floor of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. They’re seated in front of the inaugural class of Hall of Famers.

April 14, 2020

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Someone asked me the other day what exactly did Heather Connolly do for the Blue Jays?

Well, Heather began working in the ticket office for the legendary George Holm in 1984 and was in baseball operations 36 years later behind the big doors on the 300 Level. Heather looked after visas, worked on contract management, payroll, human resources hiring practices, sponsorship, event planning and player development.

Heather, 58, a Toronto native, passed away with her family by her side on April 4, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. A Humber College grad, Heather was known and respected by many players. Heather was known and respected by all the Blue Jays scouts.

And oh yes while Heather may never have stood in the batter’s box, she fought for her team. Oh, my how Heather fought for her team.

* * *

First some background.

Tim Wilken, the Blue Jays scouting director in 1999, was driving his daughter Karis from Dunedin to the Carolinas on a father-daughter holiday.

Karis, then six, was in the back as Wilken drove the back road -- Lutz Lake Fern Trailhead -- en route to Highway 75. Sitting in the back Karis spilled a fresh drink on the floor on the back seat.

Wilken, who threw batting practice for the 1977 Blue Jays, reached back and pitched the first handful of ice cubes out the window.

An area scout who worked his way up through the ranks, a second handful of ice.

And then a third toss of Wilken’s slippery wet hand went out the window. Both father and daughter heard a clink.

Now, when the Blue Jays won in 1992, Wilken’s World Series ring arrived and was too tight. So, when the Jays were repeat winners, he upped his ring size rather than saying “the usual please.” The clink was his 1993 World Series ring sailing out the window with the ice and hitting the Lutz Lake Fern Trailhead concrete.

“We turned around and looked, but to no avail,” said Wilken of their unscheduled stop in Odessa, Fla. “Karis was very hard on herself.”

Wilken’s wife, Sheri, told her husband not to worry because “some day we’re going to find that ring.”

Sheri is a supportive wife .... but zero news on the ring the first five years ... zero news the next five.

“Did I ever tell you the story how Heather Connolly got my World Series ring back?” Wilken asked.

* * *

Heather joined the Blue Jays as an administrative assistant in ticket sales in 1984 at Exhibition Stadium. In 1988, Heather moved to baseball operations and then was named senior manager Major League operations. In all, on the job for 36 years.

Heather will be remembered by her son Jonathan, his wife Lena, her grandsons and lights of her life Hayden and Liam. Her sister Davina (Lloyd) and brother Mark (Graciela).

A family funeral and burial will take place April 15 in Bowmanville, Ont.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Jays Care Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. A celebration of Heather’s life will be planned for later in the year.

* * *

Wilken was an executive with the Chicago Cubs in 2012 when he received a phone message from Heather to call Toronto. His World Series ring had been found in a New Hampshire jewellery store with an $850 price tag.

“So, the jeweller calls the Rogers Centre, Heather answers, the guys asked ‘Did your team ever have an employee named Wilken?’” the long-time Jays executive says in re-telling the story. Each player and executive has his name inscribed on their respective rings.

“The guy in New Hampshire tells her how he has this ring and Heather tells the guy ‘YOU TAKE THAT RING AND SEND IT TO US RIGHT NOW, IT IS PROPERTY OF THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS!

“Heather meant business, she was something else and I mean that in the most complimentary way. Heather is the only reason I have two rings right now.”

Yet, the jeweller from the granite state was budging like a huge piece of granite. He did mail pictures of the ring, and it looked like it had been hit by a “weed whacker,” according to Wilken.

Wilken considered not paying, but Sheri, like most baseball wives, was accurate in her prediction and the reason why: Tim should buy the ring for the sake of his daughter Karis.

“The ring arrived almost 13 years to the day it went out the window,” Wilken said. “In person it looked a lot better than in the picture.”

Karis dropped by for a visit and her father told her he had a surprise for her.

“Then Karis saw it,” Wilken said, “she stated crying her eyes out.”

Heather Connolly made all that possible.

That’s what Heather Connolly did.

Make people so happy that they cried tears of happiness.