George (Dandy) Wood article

[byrone]

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=287411&sc=99

[Kawika]

My eagerly awaited KBat. Didn't know he was a Maritimer! Thanks for the interesting read.

David McDonald
ex-UNB

[byrone]

Update: 19th century ballplayer George Wood was recently selected for the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame (story below from the Charlottetown Guardian))


George (Dandy) Wood

Wood was believed to have been an American ballplayer before research by historians and genealogists unearthed the fact that he was born in Lot 49 in 1858, before moving to Boston in 1867.
Records show that he was the first Major League Baseball player from the Island, and the fourth from Canada. He enjoyed an outstanding 13-year career in the majors, which started in 1880 with the Worcester Brown Stockings.
Primarily a left-fielder, he was the National League home run champion in 1882 with the Detroit Wolverines. Today, he's sixth all-time in triples for the Philadelphia Phillies.
He was part of the Baseball World Tour in 1888-89, and led the league for five consecutive seasons in home runs by a left-fielder.
Wood played in 1280 games -- sixth among Canadian ballplayers -- and is second only to Larry Walker in many hitting categories. He is expected to be a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in the very near future.

[Kawika]

Thanks for the update, Brian. I gave the PEI Sports HOF website a cursory look and didn't see anyone else that achieved great notoriety beyond the Maritimes. Who might I have missed?
Here's a link to the PEI Sports HOF page about Wood: http://tinyurl.com/2eppb7e
http://photos.imageevent.com/kawika_o_ka_pakipika/bbbofsfirstclass/holygrailcards/websize/OJ%20Geo%20Wood.jpg

[byrone]

The only two other Prince Edward Island natives to play big league ball were Henry Oxley (late 1800's cup of coffee) and Vern Handrahan (pitched with Kansas City Athletics in the mid-1960's).

Other than than, there have been some really good amateurs. Others have made minor league appearances.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have produced some good players over the years

[byrone]

Update story regarding George Wood's possible induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Sports/2011-01-19/article-2132609/Islandborn-player-could-win-induction-into-Canadian-Baseball-Hall-of-Fame/1

[byrone]

Just announced newest members of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame includes George Wood

http://new.baseballhalloffame.ca/news/feature/2011-inductees-to-be-announced-monday-january-24/

[Jay Wolt]

Here's his 2 Buchner Gold Coins

http://www.qualitycards.com/pictures/123772150.jpg

http://www.qualitycards.com/pictures/1239761023.jpg

[byrone]

New card of George Wood issued by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, in recognition of his 2011 induction