MONTREAL - A hard-throwing righty who scared a generation of hitters shared a gentler pitch with some Montreal students in a Black History Month event Thursday.
Ferguson Jenkins told the teenagers that one has to overcome a lot of hardship to achieve excellence.
He was raised in the ethnically-diverse Chatham, Ontario and enjoyed his childhood.
"From Jewish to Dutch to Japanese to black to Polish, it was a melting pot," he said.
But once he started practicing America's pastime professionally, Jenkins learned that some people in the USA thought things should be arranged according to skin colour, as he explained to students from Royal West Academy and James Lyng High School.
"Men of colour weren't allowed to eat in the same restaurants or same hotels. You couldn't go to Miami Beach. There were white washrooms, white and black fountains. All the black fans had to sit down the right field line," he said.
Jenkins persevered and achieved greatness, ultimately becoming the only Canadian inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Order of Canada and on his 68th birthday last December, was commemorated on a Canadian stamp.
Jenkins' message did not strike out with his young audience. They expressed surprise that such a great talent had to face such prejudice.
"It's hard to believe. I'm very happy that things are the way they are now," said Catika Jordan of James Lyng High School.
"It's unbelievable what he did," said Brandon Kennedy of Royal West Academy.
Jenkins now makes his home near Phoenix, Arizona but says he still comes back to Canada to give back whenever possible.
