A newly published book is honouring the legacy of the all-Black baseball team from Chatham that broke barriers in a white-dominated sport.
The book entitled 1934: The Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ Barrier-Breaking Year was written by Heidi LM Jacobs and chronicles Ontario’s first all-black baseball team during their winning year.
Jacobs and her colleagues at the University of Windsor conducted years of research for the book, in collaboration with the family of one of the players — Wilfred “Boomer” Harding.
A book launch will be held Wednesday, June 7 at Sons of Kent, where Jacobs will speak about the historical significance of the Chatham Coloured All-Stars and their exciting style of play.
The event will also feature a guest panel that will include “Chatham Plays On” OLG film director LeSean Harris, All-Star player descendants Blake Harding and Donal Tabron, and moderator Deirdre McCorkindale.
The book launch gets underway at 7 p.m.
The 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars are the first all-Black team to win an Ontario Baseball Amateur Association championship and have been inducted into both the Ontario Baseball Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
