Phillies manager honoured by hometown Ontario museum
In a museum in Mooretown, Ont. packed with antiques of generations gone by sits a new, seemingly out of place, baseball sports display.
Its focus is Rob Thomson, the current manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the first Canadian full-time major-league manager since the 1930s.
Thomson, who hails from Corunna, a community south of Sarnia, Ont. is currently leading his team in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the San Diego Padres.
The best-of-seven is tied at a game a piece. If the Phillies win, they advance to the World Series.
A display in honour of Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson is displayed at the Moore Museum in Mooretown, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)The accomplishment is history, in real-time, for the operators of the Rob Thomson display at the Moore Museum.
“We’re excited to have it here because it is a new part of history. We’re excited to persevere it and take note of it,” says museum coordinator Fiona Doherty.
The museum collection is a trip through Thomson’s career, claims assistant Kari Boone.
“Autographed baseballs, autographed cards and program from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and some photographs of him when he was younger, you know up until playing and managing,” Boone said.
Thomson’s managing career is the highlight showing everything from his time with the now-defunct London Tigers AA franchise to his roles with the New York Yankees and in Philadelphia.
But the credit for the collection does not belong entirely to the museum.
Instead, an old rival from the diamond in Corunna started the process.
Rick Corner in Mooretown, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) Rick Corner played against Thomson’s brother, Rick, growing up and knows Rob well.
While they say timing is everything, Corner says he first suggested the display over three years ago as a tribute to a "local baseball hero."
“I’ve got total support for Rob. He is the most humble guy around and he deserves something like this,” Corner said.
But he contends Thomson’s playoff run and career is not the main goal of the display.
“If I can inspire a little kid, growing up in a small community like Corunna, to achieve things like Rob has achieved over the years, well, that is the main inspiration,” he explains.
A thought echoed by Bonne.
“It was just to give kids that opportunity to realize that from being a bat boy in Corunna, you can make your way up into Major League Baseball.”
The Moore Museum is open Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
A display in honour of Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson is displayed at the Moore Museum in Mooretown, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.