Fergie Jenkins Foundation at odds with Sport Card & Memorabilia Expo
The Fergie Jenkins Foundation used to set up regularly at the Toronto Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo, but has chosen not to attend the past two events due to a disagreement with the show’s organizers. Photo: Red Cross Canada
November 20, 2019
By Danny Gallagher
Canadian Baseball Network
The Fergie Jenkins Foundation continues to boycott the massive Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo.
The foundation is unhappy that the folks running the event twice a year on Airport Road in Mississauga, Ont. blocked the foundation from bringing in former Expos players to sign autographs last May. Because of that friction, the foundation declined to have any players appear at the event this past weekend and will likely spurn it forever.
"We the Foundation will never attend that show,'' said Carl Kovacs, president of the foundation founded by Jenkins, a Chatham, Ont. native and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. "Celebrities were very disappointed last May not to mention the charity we promised to fundraise for. We had five Fof famers ready to attend last May.''
Kovacs and the foundation were told in May that organizers didn't want former Expos such as Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Lee Smith signing autographs at the event because it would interfere with autograph sales for other players not affiliated with the foundation.
"The show director did not want our entire group there, only Fergie and Goose Gossage, so we passed on attending,'' Kovacs said.
This past weekend, there were no former Expos at the event. Blue Jays alumni Pat Borders and Cito Gaston were the only baseball players signing at the hockey-themed exposition.
Jenkins and his foundation had been annual fixtures at the affair for many years and had been using the Expo recently as a fundraiser for the Canadian Red Cross. On the foundation's website, Alix MacAulay of the Red Cross is seen in a photo handing an award of appreciation to a foundation official for its work in financial support of the humanitarian organization.
"We always did the Red Cross Respect Ed program and its bullying program,'' Kovacs said.
Show organizer and owner Steve Menzie wouldn't address the squabble specifically but did say, "For the record, I am a big fan of Fergie and the Foundation and they are welcome to the Expo any and every time they would like to be here.''
Kovacs mentioned that he was told that former Expos would interfere with autograph sales at one show for Blue Jays legend Roberto Alomar but Rob Jack, a spokesman for Alomar, said Alomar has no say over the autograph sessions. Jack said Alomar laid out no rules or conditions regarding his participation.
"Robbie is just an independent contractor. He has no control over who comes,'' Jack said.
The exposition attracted thousands of people last weekend and bills itself as "North America's biggest hockey collectors show.'' According to the event's magazine, close to 150 vendors set up shop this weekend over a three-day span.