John Ducey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1908-08-31)August 31, 1908 |
| Died | September 11, 1983(1983-09-11) (aged 75) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Baseball executive and umpire |
| Awards | |
John Eugene Ducey (August 31, 1908 – September 11, 1983) was a Canadian baseball executive and umpire. He operated the semi-professionalEdmonton Eskimos baseball team from 1946 to 1959, and was briefly theirmanager. He organized the Alberta Senior Amateur Baseball League until the 1950 season, transferred the Eskimos into theWestern International League, then organized the Western Canada Baseball League in 1955, which later became the Canadian-American Baseball League. In 1964, he was a co-founder of the Edmonton Oldtimers Baseball Association to recognize the city's baseball history.
Beginning in baseball as abat boy and playing amateur baseball in Edmonton, heumpired for fifteen seasons including time in theNorthern Professional Baseball League. He was briefly a sportswriter for theEdmonton Bulletin, and worked winters inpublic relations for hockey and managing arenas in the United States, and the Edmonton Junior Hockey League. He was twice Edmonton's "Sportsman of the Year", was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame, theAlberta Sports Hall of Fame, and theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Edmonton's stadium was renamedJohn Ducey Park after his death.
John Eugene Ducey was born on August 31, 1908, inBuffalo, New York,[1][2] the son of Thomas and Mary Ducey.[3][4] Ducey's father was originally fromLindsay, Ontario,[5] lived in Alberta in 1906, then briefly in Buffalo by 1908, and returned to Alberta in 1909.[3] He had Irish heritage, and worked on theNew York Central Railroad, before relocating to work in real estate.[6] The family lived alternately betweenEdmonton andStrathcona, until remaining in Edmonton since 1914.[5]
In baseball, Ducey was abat boy atDiamond Park for the visiting teams playing against theEdmonton Eskimos in theWestern Canada League in 1921 and 1922.[2][3][5] While analtar boy atSt. Joseph's Cathedral, he arranged baseball games betweenCatholic parishes in Edmonton in a church league, while playing as apitcher and afirst baseman.[4][5] InCanadian football, he was an assistant clubhouse boy for theEdmonton Eskimos who wereGrey Cup finalists in1921 and1922.[6] He attended elementary school in Edmonton, then enrolled atSt. Mary's High School in 1923.[5]
Ducey was a first baseman in Edmonton'samateur baseball league for the Yeomans at Diamond Park from 1925 to 1929, and for the Imperials at Boyle Street Park in the 1930 season.[2][5] Travelling toLos Angeles to attend abaseball umpire school, he was taught byMajor League Baseball umpireBeans Reardon.[5] Ducey was anice hockey reporter for theHollywood News during that winter,[5] then a sportswriter for theEdmonton Bulletin in 1931 and 1932.[6]
After umpiring his first game on June 28, 1931, Ducey worked regularly in Edmonton's senior baseball league.[5] On May 24, 1933, he umpired the first game played at the newly openedRenfrew Park.[7][8] Following four seasons umpiring in Alberta, he accepted a post with theNorthern Professional Baseball League in 1934.[9] Returning to Edmonton by 1938, he umpired there until 1941, when he spent summers umpiring inSpringfield, Massachusetts.[10] He was offered a contract for the 1944All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season,[11] but declined then retired from umpiring after the 1945 season.[2]
From 1938 and 1941, Ducey was an arena manager inHollywood,San Francisco, and Springfield.[5] Working forEddie Shore from 1941 to 1944, Ducey was a manager for theSpringfield Indians andBuffalo Bisons.[6] He managed theEastern States Coliseum from 1941 to 1943,[10] then didpublic relations for the Buffalo Bisons in the 1943–44 season.[12] He subsequently managed theBuffalo Memorial Auditorium for the 1944-45 season.[5]
In 1945, the Edmonton Junior Hockey League hired Ducey as a public relations director to promotejunior ice hockey whilesenior ice hockey was growing.[13] Ducey andArt Potter planned a "Bob Carse night", to honour a local player who was a recentprisoner of war, and to recognize other junior hockey players who died duringWorld War II.[14][15] The junior league suspended operations after the season, replaced by a city league including senior, intermediate and junior hockey teams.[16]
Ducey subsequently switched his focus to baseball in Edmonton, where he organized leagues and teams,scouted baseball players, and occasionallymanaged baseball teams.[1][2] He also collaborated withUSC Trojans baseball coachRod Dedeaux, to bring former college players to Alberta.[17]
In 1946, Ducey and business partners leased Renfrew Park and assumed operation of Edmonton's semi-professional three-team league. Ducey managed the Edmonton Eskimos during the league's 1946 season. The league added a team inCalgary for the 1947 season, and operated as the Alberta Senior Amateur Baseball League until the 1950 season.[5][6] Ducey became majority owner of the Edmonton Eskimos in 1951, and searched for a new league to join.[5] During the 1953 and 1954 season, the Eskimos played in theWestern International League.[5][6]
Searching for another league, Ducey joined forces with teams fromSaskatoon andNorth Battleford.[5] In 1955, he organized the semi-professional Western Canada Baseball League, which later became the Canadian-American Baseball League.[6][18] In the 1957 season, the Eskimos' roster included four USC Trojans alumni including future Major League playerRon Fairly.[19] The Eskimos were Canadian champions that season, and placed second to Japan at the1957 Global Series in Detroit.[20]
In 1959, Ducey declined to purchase thePacific Coast League franchise rights to theSacramento Solons–an independent team without financial assistance as a Major Leaguefarm team. He stated that Renfrew Park required many upgrades and double its spectator capacity, and thatSunday sporting events needed be legalized in Alberta.[21] When the Canadian-American Baseball League collapsed following the 1959 season, Ducey ceased operation of the Eskimos instead of joining a new semi-professional league without a team based in Calgary.[22] He continued advocating for Sunday baseball, and pushed for domed multi-purpose stadiums to resurrect professional baseball in Alberta.[6]
In 1964, Ducey was a co-founder and the first secretary of the Edmonton Oldtimers Baseball Association, which sought a hall of fame and recognition to those involved in baseball.[3][23] Using connections in baseball, Ducey grew the association to 119 members by 1965, including 20 former major league players.[24] In 1967, the association began honouring baseball persons during annual dinners at theHotel Macdonald.[25][26]
Ducey was asales representative for Motor Car Supply Companysports equipment from 1933 to 1937, and later forCCM sports.[5] Moving to Springfield in 1941, he was a guard at theBosch Magneto Company and aUnited States military police civilian auxiliary officer.[5][10] Returning to Edmonton in 1943, he worked in personnel management for an American company involved in theAlaska Highway construction.[10] After World War II, he was a full-time commercialreal estate agent andproperty insurance agent until 1974.[5]
Ducey married Grace Mungall on July 13, 1935, with whom he had a daughter and a son.[4][5] Their son Brant, was also a journalist, earning degrees atUniversity of Oregon.[27] After a lengthy illness, Ducey died in Edmonton on September 11, 1983.[3] Following his funeral at St. Joseph's Cathedral, he was interred atHoly Cross Cemetery.[4]
Ducey was known in Edmonton as "Mr. Baseball", the "Rajah of Renfrew",[3][28] and "Lefty".[9][11] He was named Edmonton's "Sportsman of the Year" in 1954 and 1957,[3][18] and was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.[5][29] He was inducted into the builder category of theAlberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980,[1][18] and was one of the first six honourees ofCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame,[1][18] when inducted into the builder category as an umpire on August 3, 1983.[2]
When theEdmonton Trappers were established in 1981, Ducey threw theceremonial first pitch and received two lifetime seats behindhome plate from team ownerPeter Pocklington.[3] Renfrew Park was renamedJohn Ducey Park on March 13, 1984,[19] as the home park of the Trappers when they won three Pacific Coast League championships.[30] John Ducey Park was replaced byTelus Field in 1995, built on the same location.[30][31] In 1997, Edmonton renamed the road adjacent to the ballpark, John Ducey Way.[1]
The Rajah of Renfrew, a book published in 1998 by his son Brant, chronicles the life of Ducey.[1][27]