Two of the most prolific baseball names to come out of Chatham-Kent are set to receive special recognition from the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers this month.
The celebrations will start with a special night on Saturday, June 7 as the Barnstormers hold Fergie Jenkins Day at the park and retire Jenkins' number 31 at the field that already bears his name and his portrait.
The ceremony will start shortly before 7 p.m. and the first pitch for Saturday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs is set for 7:05 p.m.
Jenkins, who grew up in Chatham, was the first Canadian to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1991. He is also the Barnstormers' honorary team president.
Jenkins had a stellar career on the mound in the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, winning the National League's Cy Young Award in 1971. He was also the first MLB pitcher to end his career with at least 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks.
Later this month, on June 17, the Barnstormers will be honouring another local name that has become synonymous with professional baseball - Doug Melvin.
Melvin will be at the game against the London Majors at Fergie Jenkins Field that night to see an unveiling of his portrait at the park. Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff said Melvin's portrait was completed by Lucy Thrift -- the same artist who completed the portraits of Bill Atkinson and Fergie Jenkins that are already hanging on the wall at the diamond.
Melvin started his affiliation with Major League Baseball as a minor-league pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees farm systems in the 1970s, but he really made a name for himself in the MLB off the field as a scout and an executive.
He rose through the ranks to become the General Manager of the Texas Rangers from 1994 to 2001 and later took on the same role as the GM for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002.
Melvin has since transitioned into an advisory role with the team, serving as the senior special advisor with the Brewers since 2015.
He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 and was added to the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor in 2018.
The Barnstormers could also have some additional seating installed in time for at least one of the upcoming celebrations -- if not both.
Owner Dom Dinelle told CK News Today he is hoping the new bleachers will be installed before Saturday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which would bring the seating capacity at the park to 1,443.