Diamonds of the North

Baseball may not be Canada's national game, but its long history, its diffusion throughout the nation, and its play among widely diverse communities and by all ages of men and women suggests that it is a worthy claimant. Humber uncovers a multitude of previously unpublished reports of baseball-type games across present day Canada, long before the game's formal adoption in New York City in the mid-19th century. He explores baseball's major league quality in 1870s Ontario, why Quebecois came to play the game, how the Gold Rush brought baseball to the west coast, women's baseball in Saskatchewan after World War I, how their baseball teams' success staked Saint John and Halifax a claim to urban status, and the story of Japanese Canadian, black, and native baseball players in Canada.