06/19/2026
Great bit of Canadian Baseball history from Penetanguishene's Phil Marchildon.
With Induction Day only 1 day away, we're going back to the very first Induction ceremony for our last memory we wanted to share this week.
In 1983, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's inaugural class was inducted at Exhibition Stadium in front of a crowd of nearly 36,000 Blue Jays fans.
Before the game against the Yankees, Phil Marchildon, Tip O'Neill, Lester Pearson, Frank Shaughnessy, John Ducey, and George Selkirk were inducted into the brand new Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
In this moment, cameras captured Phil Marchildon (Penetanguishene, ON) and Yankees coach, Yogi Berra sharing a moment together on the field. Both men had served in World War II, and their baseball careers overlapped for five years post-war. Berra would certainly have faced off against Marchildon who pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, and the Boston Red Sox.
It was one very special moment from the Inaugural Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Induction.
Oh... and the Blue Jays then won 6-2!
Penetanguishene Centennial Museum & Archives RCAF Foundation / Fondation de l'ARC Toronto Blue Jays New York Yankees Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center
