By Dorothy Turcotte

Fergie Jenkins was the first Canadian born member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was born and raised in Chatham, Ontario and was signed by the the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965. After a brief stint he was traded to the Chicago Cubs where during his career he had 7 20 win seasons, won the Cy Young in 1971, collected over 3,000 strikeouts, and a 3 time All Star. He was the first modern Canadian born Hall of Famer and helped to encourage more Canadians to play baseball.

But his off the field life was not so easy. He was in trouble as a ball player for marijuana possession. He divorced his first, his second wife was involved in a car accident where she was seriously injured and died from pneumonia a month later. Less than a year later his new girlfriend committed suicide by car exhaust, and took Fergie’s daughter by his second wife with her. His was married to his third wife for 15 years, until she passed away in 2018. Through it all, Fergie kept his faith and good attitude.

A good, gentle biography written for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. It discusses his off the field problems, but never probes too deep. I prefer his autobiography, Fergie, for his life story.

210 pages

3/5