Elliott: Farewell to coach, ump, scorekeeper, third baseman Joe Sawchuk - Updated
October 31, 2022
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
If you are old enough to have watched sandlot ball in the 1950s, you probably saw him play at Christie Pits for the Columbus Boys club.
If you were around Ontario diamonds in the 1960s and 1970s, you knew him.
If you watched the Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium in the late 1970s, you probably saw him in action.
And if you were at the Ex or the SkyDome, you know him.
In short, the man loved baseball, from playing third base for Carmen Bush ... to coaching Perth, Scarborough Blue Jays in the Halton County Leage and the High Park Braves ... to umpiring at The Shrine -- known as Talbot Park at the intersection of Bayview Ave and Eglinton ... to working Toronto Blue Jays games back-to-back seasons when the American League umpires were on strike ... to being the official scorer for Jays games.
Yes, Joe Sawchuk was a baseball lifer. Sawchuk passed Feb. 26, 2021 in Brampton, yet he was still in people’s hearts and minds when a memorial was staged Sunday ... 612 days later at Kipling and Bloor.
There were stories, there were memories and a whole of sentences that began “Remember the night ...?”
Remember the night ... Sawchuk was working the plate at Stan Wadlow Park and coach John Hurd’s East York Pioneers were “being taken out behind the barn and giving an old-fashioned country whipping,” as former Montreal Expos manager Buck Rodgers used to say after a team “boat-raced” him.
Hurd called time and began to argue with Sawchuk.
“Stop right there,” said Joe, “if I have to stay and watch the rest of this mess unfold, so do you too. I’m not kicking you out so you can go for a beer.”
And Joe didn’t eject him.
He kicked lots of others out.
Son Jeff knows what year his father ran Scarborough … “1977 … it was the year Elvis died … we were driving to McGregor Park with my dad and hearing it on the radio. I was the bat boy.”
C Gary Carter — known as a supporting actor by other umpires — as Joe Sawchuk called a play at the plate for Carter’s soda commercial.
Remember the time … Joe shot the commercial for 7-Up, which starred Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter tagging out a Cincinnati Reds player at the plate and Joe zeroing in to “ring him up,” as umps like to say. At the time Joe was teased about his understudy (the future Hall of Fame catcher Carter) and how he “should remove his make up.” There seemed to be a disagreement after all these years whether it was a 7-Up or a Pepsi add, but son Jeff says it was 7-UP and has the video evidence.
The commercial was filmed in Florida during spring training in 1980. The Cincinnati Reds player was a college player as one can see from the right knee — the knee of his pants are torn from repeated sliding. Jeff remembers when “my dad got the commercial he was outside my school at Keele Street practicing his “OUT! call by himself waiting for me. Some kids and parents were watching him and they thought he was nuts.”
Remember the night ... Sawchuk was working the plate at Talbot Park and the Leaside Leafs were thumping the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians about 10-1 in the second inning of Game 3 of the best-of-five of the OBA senior playdowns. One knucklehead asked the Ottawa coach, “Isn’t that the ump that worked the Blue Jays when the umps went on strike? Why not get run and it will fire us up.” The coach respected Sawchuk too much to go through with the dumb idea.
When the AL umpires went on strike in 1978, amateur umps Al Contant (left to right), Sawchuk and Rich Panas were hired to work the games. Panas arrived after the first taking over for coaches Jerry Zimmerman (Twins) and Don Leppert (Jays).
Twice Sawchuk subbed for AL umps at the Ex Aug. 25-26, 1978, working two games against the Minnesota Twins. And the next year he worked the plate when the Detroit Tigers came to town. In both instances, he received thank you notes and compliments from AL president Lee MacPhail.
Contant delivery Coca-cola and was at the CNE making a delivery, since the Ex was going on when he heard over the radio that the umpires had gone on strike. He left his truck and went to the ballpark. Got back in it after the game and went home.
Meanwhile, Jeff’s son Joe tells the story how his dad refused to pay admission to the CNE so he jumped a fence with his umpiring gear in a suitcase.
* * *
Ted Schmidt presided over the gathering which included a mix of fellow teammates, umpires and Joe’s ex-players.
Among former players were five former High Park midgets that Joe and Chuck Akers coached: 1B Mike Didulka, all-star barrister David Wiseman, plus ex-pro INF Warren Sawkiw (Detroit Tigers/Blue Jays organizations), C Greg O’Halloran, a former Florida Marlins major leaguer, after being signed by the Jays and Joe’s son, pitcher Jeff Sawchuk,
RHP Mike Carnegie was surprised to hear that Joe has passed, saying “First I have heard about it. He was a good man. We bumped heads but there was always respect.. and that was both ways.
“Rest In Peace Joe.”
Carnegie was driving to Philadelphia Sunday night for Game 3 of the World Series to see former teammate with Team Canada in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics -- new Phillies manager Rob Thomson (Coruna, Ont.).
Newediuk Funeral Home Obituary (Feb. 27, 2021)
Joseph William Sawchuk passed away peacefully on Feb. 26, 2021 at Brampton Civic Hospital.
He was the beloved husband of Frances, father of Jeff, father-in-law to his wife Sylvia Varga and the proud grandfather of Jenna and Jack. Joe was born on April 7, 1938, the son of Wasyl and Paulina (Dowbush) Sawchuk, who came to Canada from the Ukraine.
Born and raised in Toronto, Joe was the youngest of nine siblings, and would hit the streets with his life long friends. Joe was very creative, and worked as a graphic designer for Ontario Hydro for 37 years. He was also a life long reader and continued to educate himself until the end. Joe had an encyclopedic knowledge about many things, and sports was one of the many.
Joe had vast knowledge of the Detroit Red Wings, and was also known to be a legendary ball hockey player from Saint Peter’s school. Although Joe
enjoyed hockey, his real passion was for baseball.
A hard hitting third basemen for Columbus Boys club and Carmen Bush, he grew up playing ball at The Pits and then coached for Perth, Scarborough and High Park. He was one of the finest umpires in the city and umpired briefly in the Major Leagues handling the dish with ease.
Also, working the World Series, Joe was an official scorekeeper for the Blue Jays, and with over 25 years experience never missed an opportunity to give an error when a cut off was over thrown.
Joe’s legacy lives on through his son and grandson’s love of baseball, and his granddaughter’s creativity!
In honour of Joe, donations can be made to West Toronto Baseball (High Park) so they can continue building and enhancing the West Toronto diamond to ensure future baseballers can have the best experience like Joe did.
Like they say in baseball, Joe – you may be “outta here” but your legacy and memories will continue on.