Elliott: Ottawa pro ball history, Part I

Willie Mays was supposed to play for the triple-A Ottawa Giants, but at the last moment the New York Giants decided to send him to their other affiliate — the Minneapolis Millers

September 19, 2022

The best high schoolers from across Canada arrive in Ottawa Monday for the Canadian Futures Showcase, held by the Toronto Blue Jays Academy ... but first a look back at Ottawa baseball ...

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The city of Ottawa has fielded 44 pro teams starting with the 1898 Rochester Patriots/Ottawa Wanderers in the class-A Eastern League.

Pro ball didn’t return until 1906 with an entry in the independent Northern League and vanished after one season until 1912 when the Ottawa Senators played in the class-C and class-B Canadian League for four seasons.

After a seven-year absence, the Senators entered the class-B Eastern Canada League, then changed its name to the Ottawa Canadiens the next year and then altered its moniker again to the Ottawa-Hull Senators of the class-B Quebec-Ontario-Vermont league.

Following a 12-year absence in the capital, the Senators were in the 1937 class-C Canadian-American League, then they were renamed the Braves for two seasons, reverted to the Senators and were the Ottawa-Ogdensburg Senators in 1940.

After zero pro ball for seven more seasons, the Ottawa Nationals played in the 1947 class-C Border league. They were renamed the Senators for the next two seasons and then switched back to the Nationals in 1950.

In 1951, the Ottawa Giants, a triple-A affiliate of the New York Giants, took the field, with Charlie Bishop, Marv Blaylock, Roger Bowman, Pete Burnside, Lorenzo Cabrera, Al Corwin, Piper Davis, Jerry Fahr, Frank Fanovich, Harvey Gentry, Fred Gerken, Red Hardy, Bobby Hofman, Stan Jok, Alex Konikowski, Dutch Mele, William Metzig, Andy Tomasic, Neal Watlington, Artie Wilson and Ed Wright, who all saw time in the majors.

Yet, the best player scheduled to play for the Ottawa Giants never played a game. Hall of Famer Willie Mays was sent to the triple-A Minneapolis Millers rather than Ottawa.

Two Giant players who managed in the majors were George Bamberger (seven season, 936 games, with the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets) and Billy Gardner (six seasons 747 games, Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals).

The Ottawa A’s, an International League triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia A’s, came next. Players with big-league time included Joe Atkins, Hal Bevan, Moe Burtschy, Bob Cain, Joe Coleman, Jack Conway, Art Ditmar, Frank Fanovich, Hank Foiles, Marion Fricano, Harvey Gentry, Tommy Giordano, Johnny Gray, Bill Harrington, Tex Hoyle, Skeeter Kell, Walt Kellner, Tom Kirk, Mike Kume, Lou Limmer, Jack Littrell, Hector Lopez, John Mackinson, Rinty Monahan, Gordie Mueller, Joe Murray, Al Pinkston, Jack Robinson, Dutch Romberger, Dick Rozek, Jerry Scala, Billy Shantz, Jean-Pierre Roy (Montreal, Que.), Al Rubeling, Bill Stewart, Joe Taylor, Bob Trice, Coaker Triplett, Bill Upton, Ozzie Van Brabant (Kingsville, Ont.), Bob Wellman, Lee Wheat, Taffy Wright and a few who also played with the Ottawa Giants.

Montreal Expos manager Bill Virdon used to tell stories about playing centre field for the 1954 Rochester Red Wings ... and how the centre-field fence at Lansdowne Park -- home of the CFL Ottawa Rough Riders -- was closer to home plate than the distance down the lines.

Luke Easter hit 15 homers for the 1954 Giants ... 15 of the 247 homers he hit in 13 years in the minors. Every time I’d go to a park for the first time I’d ask a senior usher, who hit the longest home run that he’d ever seen.

Easter was the answer at MacArthur Stadium in Syracuse, at War Memorial in Buffalo, at Maple Leaf Stadium in Toronto and at Latinamerico Stadium in Havana.

And that’s the early history of pro ball in Ottawa until International League play returned in 1993 as owner Howard Darwin met with Montreal Expos owner Charles Bronfman to suggest the idea. Bronfman’s response -- after Darwin was turned down before -- “Why not ... our fans can watch our best prospects at triple-A in the capital and then in a couple of years drive two hours down the road to the Olympic Stadium.”

Next, Adam Morissette takes you from 1993 to present day when the Canadian Futures Showcase arrives on Tuesday at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Stadium. You can read his article, Part 2 of Ottawa’s baseball history here.