1st Canadian elected into Baseball Hall of Fame gets bronze statue unveiled in hometown | CBC News
Fergie Jenkins is back in southwestern Ontario this weekend and says he’s “pretty excited” to have a statue in his hometown of Chatham, Ont.
“It’s very humbling, and to have my children be the ones to unveil it makes it even more special,” he said, in a statement circulated by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
Little Pre Statue Hang: Just the only 2 HOFers in the entire country ???????? smoking my new cigar at closed off Steakhouse in Chatham! Jesse Barfield, Jim Kern, & Byron Brown popped in also. ????????✌????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeStillGotIt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WeStillGotIt</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chatham?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Chatham</a> <a href=”https://t.co/yKQaS2C1ev”>pic.twitter.com/yKQaS2C1ev</a>
—@fergieajenkins
A Cy Young winner in 1971, Jenkins won 20 games in six straight seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1967-72 — and had his number 31 retired by the Cubs.
The 80-year-old former MLB pitcher was the first Canadian ever elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., back in 1991.
WATCH | Ferguson Jenkins 1991 Hall of Fame Induction Speech
The statue unveiling takes place Saturday in front of the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre — in downtown Chatham.
It’s a replica of the statue by sculptor Lou Cella that was introduced outside of Chicago’s Wrigley Field in spring 2022.
Windsor Morning8:35Fergie Jenkins Statue Unveiling
As a man Fergie Jenkins is one of a kind. But a bronze statue of the baseball hall of famer has been duplicated and will be unveiled in his hometown of Chatham-Kent. Windsor Morning Host Nav Nanwa spoke to Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff about Fergie and the statue.
“We drove the statue from Chicago ourselves to be sure that it arrived on time and intact,” said Cella, in a news release issued by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
“We know how important this event is for Chatham-Kent and we are proud to be a part of it.”
WATCH | Canadian Fergie Jenkins discusses getting statue outside Wrigley Field
Fergie Jenkins, the first-ever Canadian baseball player inducted into Cooperstown, talks to CBC’s News Network about the statue being erected outside Wrigley Field in his honour.
Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff says the statue is close to 11 feet tall, and without the pedestal stands around 7 feet tall.
“They wanted an action picture,” said Canniff.
“He’s making a pitch, so he’s wound right up — his arm is back, his leg is out the other way, ready to make a pitch. It’s a real action statue. It looks amazing where it is right in front of the Civic Centre here in Chatham.”
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