Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize the Beachville District Museum, in my riding of Oxford, as it commemorates the 175th anniversary of the first recorded baseball game in North America last weekend.
I had the honour of throwing the first ball for the opening ceremonies, which, I might add, was a real hit.
Long thought to be a sport invented in the United States, Brian Chip Martin explains in his new book, Baseball's Creation Myth: Adam Ford, Abner Graves and the Cooperstown Story, that baseball can actually be traced back to a young boy named Adam Ford. On June 4, 1838, Adam sat and watched a group of men play baseball in a pasture in Beachville, Ontario. In 1886, Adam, now a doctor, wrote to the magazine Sporting Life explaining the game and its rules. From there, baseball evolved into the game we know and love today.
There were several exciting events that celebrated the anniversary of this great sport, and I would like to congratulate all those involved who made this momentous anniversary one to remember.