Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins
CM (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former
professional baseball pitcher and
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
. He played
Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
,
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
,
Texas Rangers and
Boston Red Sox.
Jenkins played the majority of his career for the Cubs. He was a
National League (NL) and Cubs
All-Star for three seasons, and in 1971, he was the first Canadian and Cubs pitcher to win a
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...
. He was a 20-game winner for seven seasons, including six consecutive seasons for the Cubs. He was the NL leader in
wins WINS may refer to:
*WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City
*WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City
*World Institute for Nuclear Security
*Windows Internet Name Service
*WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems
*Wireles ...
, in 1971, and the
American League (AL) leader in wins, in 1974. Jenkins was also the NL leader in
complete game
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s in 1967, 1970, and 1971, and the AL leader in complete games in 1974. He led the NL in
strikeouts in 1969 and had over
3,000 strikeouts during his career. His 284 victories are the most by a black pitcher in major league history.
Jenkins also played
basketball in the off-season for the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...
from 1967 to 1969, and pitched two seasons in Canada for the
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
London Majors
The London Majors are an independent, minor league baseball team of the Intercounty Baseball League. The team was founded in 1925, and is based in London, Ontario. They play their home games at the 5,200 seat Labatt Memorial Park.
Team history
...
following his major league career.
Jenkins became the first Canadian to be inducted into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
; he remained the only one until
Larry Walker's election in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
.
Early life
Jenkins was born and raised in
Chatham, Ontario, the only child of Delores Jackson and
Ferguson Jenkins Sr.
Ferguson Holmes Jenkins (1909 – 31 October 1996), also known as Ferguson "Fergie" Jenkins Sr., was a Canadian baseball player, and the father of National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.
Biography
Jenkins began his baseball care ...
[Breaking The Colour Barrier](_blank)
University of Windsor. Retrieved November 5, 2017. His father, a chef and
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
, was the son of immigrants from
Barbados, while his mother was a descendant of American slaves who escaped through the
Underground Railroad before settling in
Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...
.
Both of his parents were good athletes; his father was an
amateur boxer and semi-professional
baseball player for the
Chatham Coloured All-Stars
The Chatham Coloured All-Stars were Canadian amateur baseball team during the 1930s. The team included notable players such as Earl "Flat" Chase, Wilfred "Boomer" Harding, Ferguson Jenkins Sr., and Willie Shaugnosh. The 1934 edition of the team br ...
.
A talented athlete, Jenkins competed in
track and field,
ice hockey, and basketball in his school years, lettering five times. When he began playing bantam baseball in his teens, he started out as a
first baseman. He honed his pitching skills by throwing pieces of coal from a local coal yard, aiming at either an open ice chute or the gaps of passing
boxcars.
He was also encouraged to continue working on his pitching by Gene Dziadura, a former
shortstop in the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
minor league system, and a
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
scout. Many training sessions involving the two followed, until Jenkins graduated from high school.
Professional baseball
MLB career
Early seasons
In 1962, Jenkins was signed by Philadelphia Phillies scout
Tony Lucadello.
Jenkins made his major-league debut as a 22-year-old in 1965, as a
relief pitcher. He was traded the following year to the Chicago Cubs, along with
Adolfo Phillips and John Herrnstein, for pitchers
Larry Jackson and
Bob Buhl
Robert Ray Buhl (August 12, 1928 – February 16, 2001) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Milwaukee Braves (1953–69), Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies.
A native o ...
. Jenkins would become one of the best pitchers in the majors. In his first full year as a starter for the Cubs (1967), Jenkins recorded 20 wins while posting a 2.80
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Compa ...
and 236 strikeouts. He finished tied for second in the Cy Young Award voting, following
Mike McCormick of the
San Francisco Giants. He was also selected for the
All-Star Game for the first time that season.
The following year his numbers improved; once again he won 20 games, his ERA dropped to 2.63 and his strikeout total increased to 260. Jenkins established a reputation for achieving his pitching feats and his statistics while spending most of his career pitching in a "hitter's ballpark"—
Wrigley Field in Chicago. Furthermore, in 1968, Jenkins lost five of his starts in 1–0 ballgames.
1971 season
Jenkins had his best season in 1971. On April 6, 1971, Jenkins started the Cubs' opening-day game. The Cubs defeated the
St. Louis Cardinals 2–1 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field. Jenkins pitched the complete game for the Cubs, and
Billy Williams
Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...
hit a home run in the final inning for the victory. On September 1, 1971, Jenkins threw another complete game against the
Montreal Expos and hit two home runs. The Cubs won the game 5–2. He was named
NL Player of the Month
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the Player of the Month Award is given monthly during the regular season to two outstanding players, one each in the National League (NL) and American League (AL). The NL first awarded the honor during the season, ...
(for the only time in his career) in July, with a 6–1 record, a 2.14 ERA, and 49 strikeouts.
That season, Jenkins threw a complete game in 30 of 39 starts and received a decision in 37 of them, finishing with a 24–13 record (.649). He walked only 37 batters versus 263 strikeouts across 325 innings.
He played in the
All-Star Game and finished seventh in MVP voting. Jenkins also posted a .478 slugging percentage, hitting six home runs and driving in 20 runs in just 115 at-bats.
Jenkins won the 1971 NL
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...
. Jenkins was the first Cubs pitcher and the first Canadian to win the Cy Young Award (
Quebec native
Éric Gagné
Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995 ...
is the only other Canadian to match the feat). He received 17 of 24 first-place votes. He was outpitched in several statistical categories by
New York Mets pitcher
Tom Seaver, but Jenkins pitched in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field and Seaver worked in pitcher-friendly
Shea Stadium.
Later seasons
In 1972, Jenkins completed his sixth consecutive season with 20 or more wins.
By the middle of the following season, he expressed that he did not feel like playing baseball anymore. He finished the season, but registered a 14–16 win–loss record.
Jenkins was traded from the Cubs to the
Texas Rangers for
Bill Madlock and
Vic Harris on October 25, 1973. Texas manager
Billy Martin was pleased with the trade, describing Jenkins as a workhorse and a winner.
In 1974, Jenkins achieved a personal best 25 wins during the season, setting a Rangers franchise record which still stands. He finished second in
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...
voting for the second time in his career behind
Catfish Hunter in a very close vote (90 points to Jenkins's 75); surprisingly, Jenkins actually finished ahead of Hunter in
MVP voting (118 points to Hunter's 107), and his fifth-place finish on the MVP leader-board was the highest of his career. He was named the American League
Comeback Player of the Year by ''
The Sporting News''.
Jenkins achieved his 250th win against the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
on May 23, 1980. Later that year, during a customs search in
Toronto, Jenkins was found possessing 3.0 grams
cocaine, 2.2 grams
hashish
Hashish ( ar, Øشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...
, and 1.75 grams
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. In response, on September 8,
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...
suspended him indefinitely. However, Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter, Raymond Goetz, overturned the suspension and reinstated him and he returned to the league. Eventually, when he went to trial, the judge gave him an absolute discharge for lack of some evidence. Jenkins was not punished further by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the 1983 season. It has been suggested that this incident delayed his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Canadian baseball
Minor league
Jenkins continued playing professional baseball in Canada after retiring from MLB in 1983 and pitched two seasons for the
London Majors
The London Majors are an independent, minor league baseball team of the Intercounty Baseball League. The team was founded in 1925, and is based in London, Ontario. They play their home games at the 5,200 seat Labatt Memorial Park.
Team history
...
, a minor league team of the
Intercounty Major Baseball League
The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian amateur baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario.
The league was formed in 1919 and ...
, operating in
London, Ontario.
Post-baseball
Jenkins ran for the
Ontario Liberal Party in the
1985 Ontario general election
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, in the riding of
Windsor—Riverside
Windsor—Riverside was an electoral riding in Ontario, Canada. It was located in the east end of Windsor. The riding was created in 1975 out of Sandwich-Riverside and merged into Windsor—St. Clair and Windsor West
Windsor West (french: W ...
, but placed third with 15% of the vote behind the
NDP's
Dave Cooke.
Legacy
Jenkins led the league in
wins WINS may refer to:
*WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City
*WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City
*World Institute for Nuclear Security
*Windows Internet Name Service
*WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems
*Wireles ...
twice (1971, 1974), fewest
walks per 9 innings five times,
complete game
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s nine times, and
home runs allowed seven times. He led the league in strikeouts once (1969, with 273). 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.
Jenkins, fellow Cub
Greg Maddux
Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...
,
Curt Schilling, and
Pedro MartÃnez are the only major league pitchers to ever record more than 3,000
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s with fewer than 1,000 walks. Only
Robin Roberts and
Jamie Moyer
Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston R ...
allowed more home runs over a career than Jenkins. Jenkins achieved his 3,000th strikeout on May 25, 1982, against
Garry Templeton.
As a hitter, Jenkins posted a .165
batting average (148-for-896) with 54
runs, 13
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
, 85
RBI and 41
bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...
. Defensively, he recorded a .954
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
.
He is considered the anchor of the
12 Black Aces, a group of pitchers with at least 20 wins in one season.
Honours and awards
In 1974, Jenkins, then with the
Texas Rangers, became the first baseball player to win the
Lou Marsh Trophy, an award given annually to Canada's top athlete. He was also named the ''
Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
''
male athlete of the year
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at ...
four times (1967, 1968, 1971, and 1974).
Jenkins was inducted into the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 1991, became the first Canadian ever elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
in
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...
. The
1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 62nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 9 ...
, held in Toronto, was dedicated to Jenkins; he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to conclude the pregame ceremonies. Jenkins was inducted into the
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and was inducted onto
Canada's Walk of Fame in 2001. He was appointed the commissioner of the now-defunct
Canadian Baseball League
The Canadian Baseball League was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins. The league featured former majo ...
in 2003; the league's Jenkins Cup went missing when the league folded and has been missing ever since. He was inducted into the
Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2011, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame created the Ferguson Jenkins Heritage Award in his honour to commemorate those one-of-a-kind events or special moments in time that so embellish the long history of sports in Ontario.
On December 17, 1979, he was made a Member of the
Order of Canada for being "Canada's best-known major-league baseball player". Governor General
Michaëlle Jean officiated at his investiture into the Order, which finally occurred on May 4, 2007, more than 27 years after he was appointed. On May 3, 2009, the Cubs retired jersey number 31 in honor of both Jenkins and
Greg Maddux
Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...
. On December 13, 2010,
Canada Post announced Jenkins would be honoured in Canada with his own postage stamp. The stamp was issued on February 1, 2011, to commemorate
Black History Month.
On May 20, 2022, Jenkins was honored with a statue outside Wrigley Field.
See also
*
3,000 strikeout club
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 strikeout club is the group of 19 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson became the first member in 1923, and was the only one until Bob Gibson joined in 1974. T ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball players from Canada
This is a list of active baseball players who hold Canadian citizenship, who have played in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Active players
Awards and notable accomplishments
Baseball Hall of Fame
*Ferguson Jenkins, 1991
*Larry Walker, 2020
Most V ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
In baseball, the strikeout is a Baseball statistics, statistic used to evaluate pitchers. A pitcher earns a strikeout when he putout, puts out the Batting (baseball), batter he is facing by throwing a ball through the strike zone, "defined as that ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league with the most wins each season. In baseball, wins are a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. Credit for a win is given by the official scorer to the pitcher whose team takes an ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
*
List of members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
This list shows all the members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Ca ...
*
List of Canadian sports personalities
The following is a list of Canadians, Canadian sports personalities.
Olympic athletes
*Alex Baumann, Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, swimmer
*Josh Binstock (born 1981), volleyball player
*Patrick Chan, Ottawa
*Victor Davis, Guelph
*Andre De Grasse, ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Jenkins, Fergie, with Lew Freedman (2009). ''Fergie: My Life from the Cubs to Cooperstown''. Chicago: Triumph Books.
External links
Fergie Jenkins FoundationFerguson Jenkinsat SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Ferguson Jenkinsat Baseball Almanac
Ferguson Jenkinsat Baseball Biography
Sidebar "Texas Ranger Hall of Famer"National Film Board of Canada documentaryHistory by the Minute Ferguson Jenkins:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Ferguson
1942 births
Living people
American League wins champions
Arizona Instructional League Cubs players
Arkansas Travelers players
Baseball people from Ontario
Black Canadian baseball players
Boston Red Sox players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian people of African-American descent
Canadian people of Barbadian descent
Canadian sportsperson-politicians
Chattanooga Lookouts players
Chicago Cubs coaches
Chicago Cubs players
Cy Young Award winners
Harlem Globetrotters players
London Majors players
Lou Marsh Trophy winners
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Canada
Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses
Major League Baseball players with retired numbers
Members of the Order of Canada
Miami Marlins (FSL) players
National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
National League All-Stars
National League strikeout champions
National League wins champions
Sportspeople from Chatham-Kent
Philadelphia Phillies players
Sun City Rays players
Texas Rangers players
Winter Haven Super Sox players
Expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua
Canadian expatriates in Nicaragua