Frank Lloyd Colman (March 2, 1918 – February 19, 1983) was a Canadian

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

during the 1940s. He batted and threw left-handed, was tall and weighed .

Early years

The son of Frederick and Harriet Colman, who operated a shoe store on Hamilton Road in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Colman joined 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 ...

of the senior

Intercounty 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 ...

in the mid-1930s. There, he won the batting title as a pitcher,

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

award, and a championship in 1936.

Major League Baseball

Colman played in MLB with the

as a first-baseman-outfielder from 1942 to 1946, and the

as an outfielder in 1946 and 1947, where he roomed with young Yankee catcher

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...

. Colman and Berra had been teammates with the minor-league

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

in 1946, and both were called up to the Yankees. In addition to Berra, Colman's teammates on the 1947 Yankees included

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to th ...

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...

Johnny Lindell John Harlan Lindell (August 30, 1916 – August 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player who was an outfielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1950 and from 1953 to 1954 for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinal ...

Charlie Keller Charles Ernest Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–43, 1945–49, 1952) and Detroi ...

Tommy Henrich Thomas David Henrich (February 20, 1913 – December 1, 2009), nicknamed "The Clutch" and "Old Reliable", was an American professional baseball player of German descent. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a right fielder and ...

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Yor ...

and

Joe Page Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 – April 21, 1980), nicknamed ''Fireman'' and ''The Gay Reliever'', was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. Page, who was left-handed, played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees ...

. Colman opened the season as the starting right fielder with the Yankees, but suffered a leg injury and underwent season-ending surgery. The Yankees went on to defeat the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in seven games for the

1947 World Series The 1947 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees won the Series in seven games for their 11th World Series championship in team history. Yankees manager Bucky Harris won the Series for the first time ...

. 1947 was Colman's last season in the major leagues, although he did play two more seasons, 1949 and 1950, in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

with Seattle, where he batted .319 with 18 home runs and 98 RBIs in 1949, and batted .310 in 1950. Colman finished his six-year major league career with 571 at-bats, 15 home runs and 106 RBIs in 271 games for a career average of .228.

Post-playing career

Colman returned to his hometown of London, Ontario, in 1954 after serving as a player-coach with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

from 1951 through 1953, a team owned by Canadian sporting legend

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

. Colman signed on as player-manager for London Majors' owner and general manager Clare Van Horne in 1954. That same year, Alex Park of Alex Park Sporting Goods Ltd. at 300 Dundas Street, hired Colman as an in-store salesman. The sporting goods store was the meeting place for a number of Londoners interested in forming a baseball league for youths. The following year in 1955, Colman took over the Intercounty League's London Majors at

Labatt Park Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park, 1877–1936) is a baseball stadium near the forks of the Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. It is in size, has 5,200 seats and a natural grass field. From home plate to centre field t ...

, where it all began for Colman 20 years earlier. Colman's brother Jack (who died in 1962), helped coach the 1955 London Majors. "The sale of the Majors baseball club to Colman is one of the best things to happen to baseball in many years," wrote ''

London Free Press ''The London Free Press'' is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Southwestern Ontario. History ''The London Free Press'' began as the ''Canadian Free Press'', ...

'' sports editor Jack Park in his "Sport Sparks" column at the time. As player-owner Colman's London Majors won the Intercounty title in 1956. The team also won the Great Lakes championship in 1957. Colman returned the Majors to the Intercounty loop in 1958, organizing an exhibition ballgame in June 1958 in conjunction with the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

and the Mocha Temple Shrine in aid of the Shrine Hospitals for Crippled Children. The ballgame between the minor-league Toronto Maple Leafs and an all-star team put together by Colman attracted 5,000 fans to Labatt Park. In 1959, Colman sold the London Majors. In 1955, Colman co-founded the

Eager Beaver Baseball Association London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

(EBBA) with sportsman Gordon Berryhill and that organization renamed its all-star day -- "Frank Colman Day"—in 1984. The EBBA is still going strong 52 years later, having mentored thousands of young ballplayers. Before Colman died of cancer in 1983 at the age of 64, he had been working at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

in the maintenance department. In 1999, Colman was inducted into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. His ...

. In a letter to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, Yogi Berra wrote that he visited Colman at his home in Canada on several occasions. "I've made a lot of friends in baseball through the years, but I'll always remember Frank as one of the most decent and genuine people that I ever met," Berra wrote. "I was proud that he was my friend." His son, Frank Colman Jr., accepted the Hall of Fame plaque at the ceremony in

St. Marys, Ontario St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the north branch of the Thames River and Trout Creek southwest of Stratford, and is surrounded by the Township of Perth South in Perth County, Ontario. St. ...

, with a large contingent of Colmans on hand. "If he were here, I think he would say his greatest accomplishment has been his contribution to the community through the work with the Eager Beaver Baseball Association," his son said. "That was his real pride and joy. He really loved that kind of work." In 2005, Colman was also inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame at the

John Labatt Centre Budweiser Gardens is a sports-entertainment centre, in London, Ontario, Canada – the largest such centre in Southwestern Ontario. Until 2012, it was known as the John Labatt Centre. The John Labatt Centre, which opened on October 11, 2002, was ...

Sources

* ''The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way'' by Bob Elliott (Sport Classic, 2005). * ''Heritage Baseball'': City of London's souvenir program from July 23, 2005, celebrating the history of Labatt Park and London, Ontario's 150th anniversary as an incorporated city. * ''The magic continues at London's Field of Dreams'' by Barry Wells (SCENE magazine, London, Ontario, June 15, 2000). * ''Who's Who in Canadian Sport'' by Bob Ferguson (Sporting Facts Publications, Ottawa, 3rd edition, 1999), . * ''Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada'' by William Humber (Oxford University Press, 1995), . * ''EBBA: 40 Years of Baseball'' by Jeffrey Reed (

, Inc., London, Ontario, 1994, ). * ''Diamond Rituals: Baseball in Canadian Culture'' by Robert K. Barney (Meckler Books, 1989). * ''Sport Sparks'' by Jack Park, ''

The London Free Press ''The London Free Press'' is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Southwestern Ontario. History ''The London Free Press'' began as the ''Canadian Free Press'', founded by Willia ...

'', June 12, 1968.

References

External links