WELCOME to the London Majors' Alumni Association pages on the Majors' website. Please check out all the other tabs in the Alumni drop-box. We are adding content to them over time. If you have any photographs, newspaper clippings or memories related to London Majors' team history that you are willing to share, please contact Majors' Alumni Chairperson Barry Boughner at: E-MAIL ~ bougie7ATrogers.com or CELL ~ 519.777.1337.barry.boughner7ATgmail.com
LABATT MEMORIAL PARK: WORLD'S OLDEST BASEBALL GROUNDS, 1877~PRESENT DAY
Designated an historic site under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1994, after a successful lobbying and informational campaign by the Friends of Labatt Park. The designating by-law was amended in 1996 to specifically include the "Roy McKay Clubhouse" at Labatt Park.
Labatt Memorial Park was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame in September 2021.
Labatt Park worthy of national historic site designation, by Chip Martin, LFP, July 11, 2020
LEGACY CLASSIC: London Majors host Guelph Royals in IBL exhibition game at Labatt Park to keep streak alive, by Ryan Pyette, LFP, Aug. 18, 2020
LEGACY CLASSIC GAME on Rogers TV-13 and YouTube, from Friday, August 21, 2020. London won 3-0
LEGACY CLASSIC GAME: CBC TV's The National, Fri. Aug. 21, 2020
More Legacy Classic Game photos by Matt Hiscox here
L-R: Barry Boughner, Chair, London Majors' Alumni Association; Roop Chanderdat, Manager, GM and Co-Owner, London Majors; Rick Corner, London Majors Alumni Association; Cleveland Brownlee, DH, #35, London Majors. PHOTO: Matt Hiscox, Friday, August 21, 2020 at Labatt Park during the Legacy Classic Exhibition Game between the Guelph Royals and the London Majors. London won 3-0, thanks to solid pitching by starter Owen Boon and timely hitting by Cleveland Brownlee. A maximum of 100 fans were permitted to watch the game at the ballpark due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Virus) pandemic restrictions. It's likely to be the only baseball game at Labatt Park during the 2020 season due to the global pandemic.
The 2017 London Majors host the Guelph Royals. Pictured above are Majors' outfielders LF Humberto Ruiz, #14, CF Byron 'Rambo' Reichstein, #21 and RF LeJon Baker, #15. PHOTO: Matt Hiscox Photography.
ROY MCKAY CLUBHOUSE: Built shortly after the Thames River Flood on April 26, 1937, the old team clubhouse was officially renamed the "Roy McKay Clubhouse" by Arden Eddie on August 1, 1996 (Roy McKay: b. August 1, 1933-d. Dec. 25, 1995), the same year the building was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The clubhouse is the heart and soul of Labatt Memorial Park, the place where the team gathered before taking the field and celebrated after the game. PHOTO: Art Lierman, July 22, 2017, Majors' Alumni Day. | The London Majors host the Brantford Red Sox in June 2014. You can see the Osprey's stick nest atop the light standard on the right, behind the 3rd-baseline stands. Two mating Osprey have been nesting there since the Spring of 2012, leaving for the South each October and returning in late March or early April. PHOTO: Brown's Photos. Art-Deco gates along Dundas Street (today's Riverside Drive) in 1961. Unfortunately, this structure was demolished circa 1980. PHOTO: Private Collection. NAMING THE ROY MCKAY CLUBHOUSE: "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission." Majors' owner Arden Eddie receives official approval from the City of London for the clubhouses's new name after the dedication ceremony at the park had already been set to go and advertised.
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| With few exceptions, home games of London's IBL franchise (1925-2019) have been played at Tecumseh Park ~ today's Labatt Memorial Park ~ the World's Oldest Baseball Grounds (1877~to the present day). See Labatt Park history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labatt_Park Fuller Field in Clinton, Massachusetts, which dates back to 1878, tried to claim the above distinction, but it was eventually rejected by the Guinness Book of World Records in favour of Labatt Memorial Park, which has been the site of organized baseball since 1877 to the present day. The American flag flies at Labatt Park alongside the Canadian flag whenever a U.S. team plays at the park. PHOTO: Brown's Photos.
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