CHATHAM, Ont. — Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins will be honoured by his hometown with a new statue.
The city of Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario will unveil a nine-foot tall bronze figure of Jenkins on June 10. It will be an exact replica of a statue made of Jenkins that sits outside of Wrigley Field, the historic home of the Chicago Cubs.
“Having this statue unveiled in my hometown will be very special,” said Jenkins. “I’m very proud to be from Chatham. It is a great town and I’m excited for everyone to get a chance to see it.
“Thank you to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts for allowing us to cast the exact same statue that sits outside of Wrigley Field.”
Jenkins had 284 career wins, a 3.34 earned-run average, and 3,192 strikeouts over 19 Major League Baseball seasons. He is one of only 19 players to reach 3,000 career strikeouts.
He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox, winning the Cy Young Award as the National League’s best pitcher for Chicago in 1971.
His streak of six straight seasons with 20 or more wins (1967—1972) is the longest streak in the major leagues since Warren Spahn performed the feat between 1956 and 1961.
The three-time all-star became the first Canadian inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1991. Jenkins was named to the Order of Canada in 1979, four years before he retired from MLB.
He was named The Canadian Press male Athlete of the Year four times (1967, 1968, 1971, and 1974).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2023.
