July 25, 2023

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Dan Norman makes for a couple of great trivia questions.

Norman was traded by the New York Mets along with set-up man Jeff Reardon to the Montreal Expos for the can’t miss prospect Ellis Valentine in 1981.

And more recently, when the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers of Ontario's Intercounty Baseball League appointed Norman as their first manager for their expansion season of 2024, little did they know he was a rare hire.

Through research and conversations with league officials, it’s been determined that Norman is only the second Black person to be named a manager of any IBL team in 60 years.

Steve Charles, a man of African-American heritage, managed the Brantford Red Sox for seven games at the beginning of the 2006 season before he was fired and replaced by Rick Johnston (Peterborough, Ont.)

"Well, you might say it's about time,” said Paul Ante, a long-time coach for the Guelph Royals. “However, there wasn't a large population of Black people in Southern Ontario when I was growing up. So maybe you can excuse it for that. I don't think Mr. Norman’s race is a big deal. I don't think that there were any prejudices having a Black manager in the years past. Just circumstances prevented it from happening before this.  

''It's exciting to have a former big leaguer join the league,'' added Ante, who began playing in the Intercounty as a junior in 1973. "Having a man of his calibre lead an IBL team is exciting.''

A few days ago, IBL statistician and researcher Herb Morell told me the last time a Black person managed an IBL team was in 1963 when Stan (Gabby) Anderson was at the helm of the London Majors. Prior to that, Jimmy (Seabiscuit) Wilkes managed Brantford in 1958.

I reported this revelation on Twitter but this information wasn’t true. It was league commissioner Ted Kalnins who pointed out Charles’ brief tenure with Brantford 17 years ago.

Norman, a Los Angeles native, was Barnstormers' owner Dom Dinelle's No. 1 choice to be manager.

Norman played in the major leagues for the New York Mets and Expos as well as managing and coaching in the minor leagues for a number of organizations.

"It's a cool fact. I didn't know that. It's fun but it's not the reason Dan was selected. As you know, he's got good credentials,'' Dinelle said in an interview. "It doesn't matter: black, white, gold, green. Dan was the best one. It just happens that he's Black.''

Norman's hiring should be a sign that more Black managers will be hired in the IBL.

“Hopefully, this will encourage other people,’’ Kalnins said in an interview. “We’re excited at the high calibre of Dan Norman. He has an incredible pedigree. It’s great of him to uproot himself and come here.’’

Kalnins and Ante pointed out that current London Majors manager Roop Chanderdat should be included in any story about Black managers. He’s a minority but he’s not of African-American heritage.