William Arthur Humber (born September 9, 1949 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) is a Canadian sports historian, author, journalist, environmentalist, and educator."William Humber". ''

Contemporary Authors ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work which has been published by Gale since 1962. It provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers. ''Contemporary Authors'' does not have selective inclusion cr ...

''. Detroit: Gale. 2002.

Personal profile

Humber was born in Toronto, Ontario. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1972, and a master's degree in environmental studies from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in 1975. Humber began working at

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate and ...

in 1977, where he served as a department chair, and the director of Eco-Seneca Initiatives, the college's department devoted to environmental educational initiatives.''

Canadian Who's Who ''Canadian Who's Who'' is a publication containing biographical information about 13,000 notable Canadians. Because of the absence of biographical fact-checking by the publishers (e.g. candidates send in their own biographical details without any ...

''. Toronto: Grey House Publishing. 2018. He retired in December 2018.

Writing

Humber is the author of 13 books on baseball, sports, the environment, and his hometown of

Bowmanville Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along ...

, Ontario.

Baseball historian

Humber currently serves as a selector for 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 ...

, and was a selector for

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 Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

and the Clarington Sports Hall of Fame. In 1989, he was a subject specialist at the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

for an exhibit on baseball. Humber was inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 16, 2018.The Canadian Press. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. February 1, 2018. He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2021.

Books by Humber

* ''Cheering for the Home Team: The Story of Baseball in Canada'', Boston Mills Press (Erin, Ontario), 1983. * ''Freewheeling: The Story of Bicycling in Canada'', Boston Mills Press, 1986. * (With Doris Falls) ''The History of Central Public School in Bowmanville'', Josten's (Topeka, KS), 1989. * ''Let's Play Ball: Inside the Perfect Game'', Lester and Orpen, 1989. * ''The Baseball Book and Trophy'', Somerville House, 1993. * ''The Kids' Soccer Book and Medallion'', Somerville House, 1994. * ''Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada'', Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1995. * (With John St. James) ''All I Thought about Was Baseball: Essays on a Canadian Pastime'', University of Toronto Press (Toronto), 1996. * ''Bowmanville: A Small Town at the Edge'', Natural Heritage, 1997. * ''A Sporting Chance'', Dundurn Press, 2004. * (With Darryl Humber) ''Let it Snow: Keeping Canada's Winter Sports Alive'', Dundurn Press, 2009. * (With Velma Grover and Gail Krantzberg) ''The Regeneration Imperative: Revitalization of Built and Natural Assets'', CRC Press, 2016. * (With Bradley Humber) ''Soccer Triumphant'', St. Johann Press, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humber, William 1949 births Living people Sports historians Baseball writers University of Toronto alumni York University alumni Writers from Toronto Canadian people of English descent Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Baseball in Canada Members of the Order of Canada People from Clarington Academic staff of Seneca College