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Ron Stead

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Canadian baseball player Baseball player
Ron Stead
Pitcher
Born: (1936-09-24)September 24, 1936
London, Ontario, Canada
Died: December 5, 2011(2011-12-05) (aged 75)
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Batted: RightThrew: Left
Member of the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction2006

Ronald Duncan Stead (September 24, 1936 – December 5, 2011) was a Canadian baseball pitcher. He played briefly in Minor League Baseball, then went on to play for over a decade in the Intercounty Baseball League of Ontario, setting multiple league records. He was inducted to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 150 pounds (68 kg), he threw left-handed and batted right-handed.

Biography

Stead grew up in Toronto near Maple Leaf Stadium, home ballpark of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. He served as a batboy for the team in 1947 and later was a batting practice pitcher for the team. In 1956, he signed a player contract with the Maple Leafs and was assigned to the Florida State League (FSL).

Stead played in Minor League Baseball during 1956, 1957, and part of 1958. In 1956, he played in the FSL for the Orlando Seratomas. In 30 games (29 starts and 20 complete games) he compiled a 10–17 win–loss record with a 3.04 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 157 batters in 237 innings pitched. He returned to the FSL in 1957; pitching for the Gainesville G-Men he had a 17–10 record in 30 games (26 starts and 24 complete games) with a 2.34 ERA while striking out 138 batters in 226 innings. In 1958, Stead made two appearances for the Duluth-Superior White Sox, a farm team of the Chicago White Sox in the Northern League. His statistics for the season are incomplete, although a newspaper box score shows he allowed eight runs in 1+1⁄3 innings of relief during a game in May.

In early June 1958, Stead joined the Brantford Red Sox, a team in the amateur Intercounty Baseball League of Southern Ontario. One of his teammates with Brantford was outfielder Jimmy Wilkes, who had played several seasons in Negro league baseball. Stead went on to pitch for Brantford for nine seasons, through 1966, and pitched 14 total seasons in the Intercounty Baseball League, finishing in 1972 with the Guelph CJoys. Stead had great success in the league, including a 0.35 ERA in 1967, setting a new league record. He was named an all-star 10 times, was league MVP three times, and is considered one of the top 100 players in league history. Stead's uniform number, 11, was retired by the Brantford Red Sox in 2002. He still held multiple Intercounty Baseball League records, including career wins (104) and strikeouts (1,231), when he was inducted to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Stead also played for the Canada national baseball team, appearing in the 1967 Pan American Games, contested in Winnipeg. He was the starting pitcher of the team's opening game, a 3–1 loss to Mexico; Stead struck out 10 batters in seven innings while allowing four hits. Canada won its second game in the tournament, defeating Puerto Rico by a 3–2 score. However, officials then ruled that four players on the Canadian team, including Stead, were ineligible to compete because they had previously played professional baseball. The win over Puerto Rico was forfeited, and the Canadian team continued in the tournament without the ineligible players, ultimately finishing last in the five-team competition. Stead later played for the champion Ontario baseball team at the 1969 Canada Games.

Outside of baseball, Stead worked for Union Gas. After his baseball career, he played slow-pitch softball until 2000. Stead and his wife, Betty, had three sons and a daughter. He died in 2011, aged 75.

References

  1. ^ "Ron Stead". baseballhalloffame.ca. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  2. "Training Camp Notes: Leafs Sign Fielder". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. CP. February 25, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Rock's Brother Farmed Out". The Sault Star. Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. CP. April 4, 1956. p. 21. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ron Stead Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  5. "Duluth-Superior vs. St. Cloud (box score)". St. Cloud Times. St. Cloud, Minnesota. May 19, 1958. p. 16. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  6. Beare, Ted (June 2, 1958). "Beare sport Facts (column)". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. p. 8. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Stead, Wilkes Lead Red Sox To Extra-Innings Victory". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. July 12, 1958. p. 8. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Jimmy Wilkes Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  9. Beare, Ted (August 18, 1972). "Beare sport Facts (column)". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. p. 6. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Weatherman assures Sox of full team". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. August 14, 1975. p. 9. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Beare, Ted (June 5, 2002). "Beare Facts (column)". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. p. 13. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  12. "Top 100 IBL Players". theibl.ca. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  13. Beck, Dallis (July 25, 1967). "Dallis Beck (column)". The Albertan. Calgary. p. 10. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Stead Suspended From Pan-Ams, Found Ineligible". The Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. July 27, 1967. p. 9. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  15. "Bits and pieces from Pan-Ams". The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. CP. August 3, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  16. "Ron Stead". attheplate.com. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  17. "Obituary of Ron D. Stead". mckinlayfuneralhome.com. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

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