R.I.P. Jack Langmaid: Oshawa pitcher and all-around athlete

Jack Langmaid (pictured here) was an all-round, superb athlete in his hometown of Oshawa, Ont. and baseball was very much a part of his repertoire. He recently passed away at age 93. Photo supplied

June 4, 2019

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Jack Langmaid was an all-round, superb athlete in his hometown of Oshawa, Ont. and baseball was very much a part of his repertoire.

Langmaid pitched a no-hit, no-run game in 1946 for Oshawa B'Nai B'Rrith against the Oshawa Hunt Club in the Lakeshore Junior Baseball League which also included teams from Bowmanville, Cobourg, Port Hope and Whitby.

Langmaid was 19 at the time, throwing his no-no in a 12-0 shellacking at Alexandra Park in a game shortened to six innings because of darkness, according to a report in the Oshawa Times-Gazette.

Langmaid struck out nine, issued two walks and a runner reached on an error but other than that, he was unstoppable. He also helped his team's cause with three hits.

"The game itself was not much to watch because it was so one-sided but the great pitching of Langmaid was worth all the rest of the game,'' the Times-Gazette reporter wrote.

As a juvenile player with the Oshawa Coca-Colas a few years earlier, Langmaid once threw a one-hitter. Another time, he spun a two-hitter, striking out 10 in a 3-0 win over the Arenas. He was also exceptional with a 13-strikeout effort against Bowmanville Rotary in a 1-0 win.

At the plate, he was excellent, too, especially in 1944 with a .455 batting average, placing him second overall, according to a newspaper clipping provided by Langmaid's daughter Jane.

"He pretty much specialized in pitching. That's all he played, maybe some third base,'' his younger brother Ross said in a phone interview.

What may have been Langmaid's greatest contribution to his legacy during his baseball career was a decision him and his teammates made after Oshawa Minor Baseball Association president Frank McCallum and his fellow executives wanted the Coca Colas and Oshawa Victors to replay two playoff games in 1943 because the Victors used an ineligible player obtained from the military ranks.

"Players Decide It'' was the headline in the paper. Langmaid and his mates had held a meeting of their own after the ruling by the executive and agreed that the series should stand in the Victors’ favour.

As the reporter wrote, the delegation went to McCallum and told him, “they had been defeated on the diamond fairly and squarely and they didn’t want any backdoor entrance to the championship throne room. The players all agreed not to play again. Coca-Cola players can take credit for saving the situation in a fine gesture of sportsmanship.''

Three years later in a story about one of Langmaid’s great baseball games, newspaperman George Campbell mentioned, “we recall his stand in a title mix-up in the juvenile ranks a few years back and know he’s a true sportsman. He wears his laurels well and a same-size cap. Nice going, Jack.”’

Said Jane, "Dad would be proud to leave that legacy'', in referring to his sportsmanship regarding the ineligible player.

Langmaid, 93, died recently after a long, full life that included a 49-year run as an orthodontist from 1952-2001 in Oshawa. When he wasn't checking the teeth and jaws of patients, he was a giant in the sports world besides baseball which he played from 1943-47.

Langmaid was a world-class sailor, winning the six-race World Albacore championship in 1971 at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club with his daughter Nancy crewing the effort. He also captured the U.S. Albacore title in 1968, 1969 and 1970. He also did a stint as president of the Canadian Albacore Association in 1963.

Langmaid won the quarter finals of the Canadian Open tennis tournament in 1948 and captured the Oshawa Tennis Club's men's championship four times between 1948 and 1969.

According to his obituary, Langmaid also excelled at skiing, golf and windsurfing. Since his death, his son Bob discovered that he also was a crackerjack at lacrosse and many other sports.

“Jack was also competitive in table tennis at the University of Toronto and was on the university water polo and basketball teams,’’ Bob said. “And he played hockey as a teenager. As an adult, he curled competitively besides golf. He was a strong swimmer and diver, as I know from my childhood.’’

Langmaid’s athletic achievements led to his induction into Oshawa's Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 as an inaugural member.

Predeceased by his wife Ruth just a few months ago, Langmaid leaves his children Bob, Jane, Nancy and Bruce and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.