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The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball’s Love Affair with the Railway
June 17, 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The next event in our online lecture series, Railway Ties
Join us on June 17 for the next online lecture in our 2021 series: The Crowd Went Wild! Presented by Canada’s premier baseball historian, William Humber, discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada. Proceeds from ticket sales will go towards future programming and support the collection, preservation, restoration of Canadian rail artifacts and important historical interpretation at the TRM.
Canadian baseball’s biggest myth is how Americans imposed it on us. Not so! We shared with them the modern game’s evolution from its folk roots. In some ways, Canadians had an even bigger role. The railway system brought this early role to full maturity. Its independent growth in Ontario, between 1854-1873, was railway reliant. Railway porters were likely the first African-Canadian team in 1869. In 1934, Babe Ruth started his epical trip to Japan with a rail stopover in Moose Jaw. The crowd on a Saskatchewan platform went wild! To this day the GO train or subway takes most people to Blue Jays games and the VIA stopover in St. Marys Ontario is a homerun drive to Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
About William Humber
William Humber of Bowmanville entered Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 for championing the game’s history in Canada. Author of 12 books including five on baseball, he is often asked to comment on baseball by amongst others the CBC and the Rogers Sportsnet. For the past 43 years he has taught a “Baseball Spring Training for Fans” course, (on-line this year), preparing fans for the season ahead. He is a respected member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s 19th century research community.
About the Toronto Railway Museum (TRM)
The Toronto Railway Museum (TRM) brings people together by telling stories of Toronto’s railway heritage. The Museum is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and is typically open year-round. TRM presents exhibits, tours, educational programs and publications that broaden the understanding and appreciation of Toronto’s rich railway history. TRM is committed to telling the stories of the railways, and welcoming conversations of its varied experiences through its lecture series, exhibits and integrated programming with a mission to learn from the past to make the future better.
Tickets
VIP Tickets:
$25 (+ fees and HST) with access to Zoom link, plus the live Q&A with William Humber and Toronto Railway Museum Historians. VIP attendees will have the chance to win multiple prizes, including signed Blue Jays memorabilia and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada tickets! They will also receive a free gift from our friends at Steam Whistle Brewing.
General Admission:
$10 (+ fees and HST) with access to YouTube link
Tickets available now on Eventbrite.
Hurry! The first 50 VIP ticket purchasers will get a free Blue Jays hat! Pick up only.