Butch (The Beast) McLarty Alt-London's Proprietor The award Butch 'won' when he bought an Australian buddy a 24 of Fosters beer. Alt-London's Certified Holistic Health and All-Organic Nutritional Consultant
HISTORY CORNER: Norman J. Aldridge and Frank Colman
Distinguished London sportsman Norman J. Aldridge, Esq. at RUMBLE AT THE RIVERFORKS, Labatt Park, May 31, 1998 PHOTO: Herb Walsh Normie is Butch McLarty's inspiration. Right-Click on this Image and "Set as Wallpaper." Norm Aldridge Field in London
Alt-London welcomes interesting historical nuggets about London, Ontario and area for 'History Corner' Frank Colman
Frank Lloyd Colman (March 2, 1918 - February 19, 1983), was a Major League Baseball player from London, Ontario, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.
The son of Frederick and Harriet Colman who operated a shoe store on Hamilton Road in London, Colman joined the London Majors of the senior Intercounty Baseball League in the mid-1930s (winning the batting title as a pitcher, Most Valuable Player award and a championship in 1936), the Pittsburgh Pirates as a first-baseman-outfielder from 1942 to 1946 and the New York Yankees as an outfielder in 1946 and 1947, where he roomed with the young Yankee catcher Yogi Berra.
Colman batted and threw left, was six-feet tall and weighed 188 pounds. His debut in Major League Baseball was on September 12, 1942, and his final game in the big leagues was on August 3, 1947.
Colman and Yogi Berra were teammates with the minor-league Newark, New York, Bears in 1946 and both were called up to the Yankees.
In 1947, Colman opened the season as the starting right fielder with the Yankees but suffered a leg injury and underwent season-ending surgery. That would be his last season in the big leagues, although Colman did play two more seasons in 1949 and 1950 in the Pacific Coast League with the Seattle Rainiers where he batted .319 with 18 HRs and 98 RBIs in 1949 and batted .310 in 1950.
What had to be disappointing for Colman was being a non-roster player for the Yankees when they defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games for the 1947 World Series championship.
Nevertheless, Colman was part of the World Series scene. The only other native Londoner to experience the World Series was the outstanding Iron Man catcher George (Mooney) Gibson in 1909 when Gibson's Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers starring Ty Cobb in the best-of-nine final series, five games to two.
Nineteen-forty-seven was a benchmark for Major League Baseball if there ever was one. Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was suspended for the year even before the season opened for "conduct detrimental to baseball."
The doors were finally opened to the black athlete as an infielder by the name of Jackie Robinson was plucked from the Montreal Royals to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers into one of the most memorable World Series of all time.
Colman finished his six-year major league career with 571 at-bats, 15 home runs and 106 RBIs in 271 games for a career average of .228.
Colman returns to his hometown
Colman returned to his hometown of London in 1954 after serving as a player-coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the AAA International League from 1951 through 1953, a team owned by Canadian sporting legend Jack Kent Cooke.
Colman signed on as playing manager for London Majors' owner and general manager Clare Van Horne in 1954. (Years later, Van Horne would subsequently leave London facing a paternity suit, move to California and subsequently be convicted of murdering his girlfriend with a hammer).
That same year, Alex Park of Alex Park Sporting Goods Ltd. at 300 Dundas Street, hired Colman as an in-store salesman. The sporting goods store was the meeting place for a number of Londoners interested in forming a baseball league for youths.
Purchases the London Majors
The following year in 1955, Frank Colman took over the Intercounty League's London Majors at Labatt Park, where it all began for Colman 20 years earlier. Colman's brother Jack (who died in 1962), helped coach the 1955 London Majors.
"The sale of the Majors baseball club to Colman is one of the best things to happen to baseball in many years," wrote London Free Press sports editor Jack Park in his "Sport Sparks" column at the time.
As player-owner Colman's London Majors won the Intercounty title in 1956. The team also won the Great Lakes championship in 1957.
Colman returned the Majors to the Intercounty loop in 1958, organizing an exhibition ballgame in June of 1958 in conjunction with the Knights of Columbus and the Mocha Temple Shrine in aid of the Shrine Hospitals for Crippled Children.
The ballgame between the Toronto Maple Leafs of the AAA International League and an all-star team put together by Colman attracted 5,000 fans to Labatt Park. In 1959, Colman sold the London Majors.
Colman, co-founder of the Eager Beaver Baseball Association
In 1955, Colman co-founded the Eager Beaver Baseball Association (EBBA) with sportsman Gordon Berryhill and that organization renamed its all-star day -- "Frank Colman Day" -- in 1984.
The EBBA is still going strong 51 years later, having mentored thousands of young ballplayers.
Before Frank Colman died of cancer in 1983 at the age of 65, he had been working at the University of Western Ontario in the maintenance department.
Sixteen years later in 1999, Frank Colman was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. In a letter to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, Yogi Berra wrote that he visited Colman at his home in Canada on several occasions.
Yogi Berra, Frank Colman's pal
"I've made a lot of friends in baseball through the years, but I'll always remember Frank as one of the most decent and genuine people that I ever met," Berra wrote. "I was proud that he was my friend."
His son, Frank Colman Jr., accepted the Hall of Fame plaque at the ceremony in St. Marys, Ontario with a large contingent of Colmans on hand.
"If he were here, I think he would say his greatest accomplishment has been his contribution to the community through the work with the Eager Beaver Baseball Association," his son said. "That was his real pride and joy. He really loved that kind of work."
In 2005, Colman was also inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame at the John Labatt Centre.
Mr. Colman was cremated with his ashes stored in a columbarium at Woodland Cemetery in London, Ontario.
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TOP SECRET TRANSACTION: Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO) purchased the reported 550 tonnes of "yellowcake", the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment, in a deal reported to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
ANCIENT TABLET: A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.
Majors sweep defending champs Toronto Maple Leafs in this afternoon's doubleheader at Labatt Park, 6-3 and 3-0
THIS JUST IN: The London Majors trimmed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 in the first game of their doubleheader this afternoon at Labatt Park. The Majors blanked the Leafs 3-0 in the second game with all-star pitcher Josh Palmer on the mound. Bulldog pitcher Adam Echlin pitched the first game for London. The wins put London in serious contention for first place in the IBL.
CITY OF LONDON MEDIA RELEASE
Update On Negotiations with CUPE Local 101
For Immediate Release
July 6, 2008
THE CITY OF LONDON supports its 750 employees of CUPE Local 101 and recognizes that they are hard-working, responsible and dedicated to public service.
Although best efforts on both sides to reach an agreement was not possible this past week, it is encouraging that it’s business as usual on Monday, and that the strike/lockout deadline was extended to midnight July 12, 2008.
The Corporation is pleased that the Union has agreed, as reported in the media today, that the economic increases over the length of the three-year contract are not an issue.
DEAR MEMBERS of CUPE Local 101, on behalf of your negotiating committee, here is the news release that is going to the media today Saturday July 5th, 2008.
For immediate release July 5, 2008
CUPE Local 101 says the City of London is thwarting negotiations by wanting three grievances dropped
London, Ont. ~ City of London management is jeopardizing public services by demanding that CUPE Local 101 drop three grievances or go out on strike, warns the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing more than 750 municipal ‘inside’ workers.
“The employer is holding public services that our members provide to the residents of London as bargaining chips,” said Cindy Cossar-Jones, president of CUPE 101.
“In the last stages of bargaining, the employer demanded that we drop grievances we have filed against the city for violations of our collective agreement.
We’ve even had two days of hearings on one of the grievances, which normally are dealt with in a separate process outside of bargaining, and we suspect the employer knows they will not win this grievance. Essentially they are telling us, you either drop these grievances or you go on strike.”
THE INTERCOUNTY BASEBALL LEAGUE All-Stars were a little too much for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, downing the defending IBL champions 5-2 at the 2008 New-Era IBL All-Star Game at Christie Pits in Toronto.
The annual game featured some of the best players from across the IBL taking on the Maple Leafs, with a charity slo-pitch game featuring a media team against a Celebrity team taking place prior to the main event.
Canadian baseball legend Ferguson Jenkins threw out the ceremonial first pitch and also took part in the charity game, with proceeds going to a local food bank.
In the game the All-Stars had a little too much depth for the Leafs, slapping out 10 hits in the seven-inning game to pull out the victory.
PRIVATE MONOPOLY: Many beer drinkers believe The Beer Store is provincially run, like the LCBO. The chain is actually owned by Ontario's largest brewers: Molson, Labatt and Sleeman, which in turn are owned by even larger global conglomerates.
NO RESPECT FOR DAS FUHRER: A man has torn the head of Adolf Hitler off a wax statue of the German dictator on the opening day of a new Madame Tussauds museum in Berlin. Click on above image for more information.
THIS JUST IN: The strike deadline for CUPE Local 101 (the City's 775 "inside workers") has been extended to Saturday, July 12 at 12:01 a.m. Previously, it was 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 5.
MEET-THE-MAYOR-NIGHT AT HER HUSBAND'S WATERING HOLE: Local managers are being invited to an evening with London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best.
The Project Management Institute's Southwestern Ontario chapter is holding a Meet-the-Mayor networking event on Thursday, July 10 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The evening will feature an address by the mayor and a question-and-answer period with her, as well as formal and informal networking activities and a full dinner buffet. It will be held at Friday Knight Lights, the Richmond Street bar owned by the mayor's husband, Tim Best. The cost is $30 for members and $60 for non-members. For a few extra bucks, you can even fondle (or try on) the mayor's chain of office.
IN LONDON AT HISTORIC LABATT PARK, the Majors scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning after Brantford had scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to record a wild 6-5 win over the visiting Brantford Red Sox.
Toshi Sasa, a native of Osaka, Japan, had two hits and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a single to lift the Majors to the win, as London (19-8) moved to within 1 ˝ games of first place Guelph and just one game behind second-place Barrie.
Mason Reilly had two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Majors while Jess Bechard homered and drove in two runs. Kyle Piwowrczyk and Jeff Helps also had two hits each for the Majors.
Al Stephens hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth and had three hits, while Josh McCurdy also had three hits and drove in a run for the Sox. Justin Wendt added a pair of hits for Brantford (18-11).
Brantford starter Mike Meyers went 8 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, but reliever Jake Eliopoulos took the loss and was charged with three runs on three hits in 1/3 inning.
Pierre Deschenes got the win in relief for London, allowing three runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings. Starter Ryan McGorman allowed two runs on 10 hits over 7 2/3 innings.
read more (313 words) 1 comments Most Recent Post: 07/05 11:35AM by Mr_Ambassador
CITY SERVICES: How would they be affected in the event of a strike by members of CUPE Local 101
CITY SERVICES: How would they be affected in the event of a strike by members of CUPE Local 101
For Immediate Release ~ July 4, 2008
IN THE EVENT of a strike by the City of London 's inside workers represented by CUPE Local 101, plans are in place to provide some continued services to the public.
Many services are expected to be unaffected as they are provided by employees not represented by CUPE 101.
Efforts will be made to minimize any delay or disruption of these services due to picketing activity by CUPE 101 members. A complete listing of all City services which may be impacted by a strike will be available on the City of London website at www.london.ca.
Residents can also call the Public Inquiry Line at 519-661-2489 (519-661-CITY).
read more (410 words) 2 comments Most Recent Post: 07/05 09:34AM by Mr_Ambassador
LONDON, ONTARIO BREAKING NEWS: Pot and cash seized as two arrested on Richmond Row
THIS JUST IN: The London Majors trimmed the Brantford Red Sox 6-5 tonight at Labatt Park in a come-from-behind win, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out. For more details and box scores, log onto www.theibl.ca.
WHERE'S THE BEEF?: A Romanian court on Friday ordered a surgeon who severed a man's penis during an operation to pay his victim 500,000 euros ($785,000 or $100,000 an inch) in compensation. Urologist and anatomy professor, Naum Ciomu, 62, had been carrying out an operation on the man's testicles, but accidentally severed the penis during the surgical intervention.
BREAKING NEWS: DEAL HAS NOT BEEN REACHED; CITY HAS SUBMITTED FINAL OFFER TO INSIDE WORKERS' UNION
Negotiations between the City of London and CUPE Local 101 (775 "inside workers") were the subject of a special, closed-door city council meeting this afternoon.
No deal has been reached at this point (Friday, July 4 at 3 p.m.), but the City of London has submitted a final offer to the executive of CUPE Local 101 for consideration, thereby rejecting the previously submitted counter-offer from the union. The union will be in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 5 (now extended to Saturday, June 12 at 12:01 a.m.).
DEAL REACHED WITH DEARNESS HOME WORKERS
The City has, however, ratified a three-year agreement (2007-2010) with the Dearness Home employees, members of CAW-Canada and its Local 302, which represents 112 full-time and 174 part-time workers. The agreement provides some minor benefit enhancements and an average pay increase of 2.73 per cent each year.
INTERCOUNTY GRUDGE MATCH TONIGHT AT LABATT PARK @ 7:30 PM: Tonight the Brantford Red Sox (18-10) are in town to seek revenge against the London Majors (18-8) for humiliating them twice in their own ballpark earlier in the season. If London wins this one, it'll put them a game closer to joining Barrie Baycats (20-7) in second place. This one could get ugly.
GOODBYE BOZO: Larry Harmon, who portrayed the wing-haired clown for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure, said his publicist, Jerry Digney. He was 83. As an entrepreneur, Harmon licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos.
BREAKING NEWS: Pot and cash seized as two arrested on Richmond Row Thursday night
AT APPROXIMATELY 8:55 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, 2008, London Police Service officers observed a motor vehicle being operated in a suspicious manner in the area of Richmond Street and Central Avenue.
The vehicle was stopped by police as it pulled in behind some
Richmond Row businesses.
As the officers approached the vehicle they could see a small bag of drugs in plain view. The adult male passenger attempted to flee on foot and was pursued by one officer. This male was subsequently tracked and arrested with the assistance of the K-9 Unit.
BREAKING NEWS: Woman sexually assaulted in east London early this morning
MEMBERS from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section of the Criminal Investigation Division are requesting the public’s assistance in locating a suspect for a sexual assault that occurred on Thursday, July 3, 2008.
At approximately 3 a.m., a 24-year-old woman was returning to her vehicle in the area of Trafalgar Street and Bonaventure Drive in east London when she was attacked and sexually assaulted by an unknown male.
The victim fought off the suspect and the suspect fled on foot in an eastbound direction. The victim received non-life threatening injuries.
IBL: There are two games in the IBL on Thursday, July 3. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in Kitchener to meet the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. and the Hamilton Thunderbirds play in Barrie against the Baycats, also at 7:30 p.m. For more scores, stats and news from around the IBL, check the league’s official website at www.theibl.ca.
LIQUID GOLD: Soaring fuel costs are squeezing cash-strapped drivers and driving up prices in the U.S., the world's leading oil consumer. The government issued more troubling economic news Thursday, reporting that U.S. employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June, the sixth straight month of nationwide job losses.
GREEN TEA: In a small study of 14 people, Greek researchers found that drinking 6 grams of green tea caused the study subjects' brachial arteries to expand by almost 4 per cent. The brachial artery is in the upper arm. According to the researchers, expansion of the arteries leads to improved heart health.
BREAKING NEWS: Samuel Douglas, 71 of Brampton, charged with two child pornography-related counts
THE LONDON POLICE CYBER CRIME UNIT, along with the assistance of members of the Peel Regional Police Service, arrested a man on July 2 2008, after an Internet child pornography investigation that began in May.
Charged with making child pornography and counsel to commit sexual interference (which offence was not committed) is Samuel Douglas, 71 years old of Brampton.
HOME SWEET HOME: Starter homes for the economic challenged may not be exactly as illustrated.
THE HOME OWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM has been expanded to offer more renters the opportunity of owning their own home.
The Home Ownership Assistance Program is an interest-free loan that provides 5% in down payment assistance to interested eligible applicants in London and Middlesex County.
Qualifying home buyers can also receive another 1% of the cost of the home to assist in paying "closing costs" including legal fees, disbursements and registration on title.
Applicants must be renters, at least 18 years old, must not currently own a home or a residential property in whole or in part (including recreation or cottage property), have a gross household income of $50,000 or less and must qualify for and be pre-approved for a mortgage at a recognized financial institution.
Prof. Ian Hunter's column in today's National Post falls wide of the mark
THE IDYLLIC GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN MEN WERE MEN AND WOMEN, SHEEP, SLAVES AND CHOIR BOYS WERE NERVOUS
PROFESSOR EMERITUS Ian Hunter (UWO, Faculty of Law, now retired) has a column published in today's National Post, titled A Symbol of Moral Decay.
In his column, Mr. Hunter criticizes the decision to bestow the Order of Canada on Dr. Henry Morgentaler, citing it as an example of the moral failings of the "new Canada," suggesting that the "old Canada" was a superior moral entity.
I should remind Mr. Hunter that his so-called "old Canada" was rife with human rights' abuses of every stripe, including gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, to the point that it's fair to say it was both systemic and institutionalized.
read more (571 words) 7 comments Most Recent Post: 07/05 10:25AM by Protestant
Enjoy London Majors Baseball at historic Labatt Park.
The London Majors (21-8) play their next home game against the Guelph Royals (21-7) on Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m.
$6 for Adults, $4 for Seniors and Children under 12
In addition to 135 free parking spots in the park itself, there is free parking for 300 vehicles behind the Kiwanis Seniors' Centre at Riverside Drive and Wilson Avenue
The Roy McKay Clubhouse at historic Labatt Park is currently being refurbished to a circa-1937 working clubhouse by the City of London at a cost of $129,000.
DYNAMIC DUO: Former London Majors' SS Mike Ambrose (left, a third-generation London Major) and all-star Kyle Piwowarczyk (2B) in the historic Roy McKay Clubhouse at Labatt Park on Canada Day 2006. PHOTO: Stephen Harding
Sunday's (July 6) scores
London 6, Toronto 3 (7 innings, DH); London 3, Toronto 0
Saturday's (July 6) score
IBL All-Stars 5, Toronto 2
Click on flag to hear Bobby Gimby's Canada song from 1967. 141 YEARS: July 1, 1867-July 1, 2008
Click on flag to hear Ontario's song from 1967, A Place to Stand.
Click on flag to hear Butch McLarty's theme song. Pillaging and Plundering the Planet since 1954.
Click on flag to hear London, Ontario's Creative City theme song. Let 'er rip boys!
Mr. Popeye D'Oyl, Alt-London's new steroid-free Security Chief and Accounts Receivable Manager, has a BA in Criminology, an MA in Friendly Persuasion and a PhD in Bicep Enlargement and Account Collections.
Click on Alt-London image to hear London's Creative City theme song.
VIDEO: That hunky singing sensation from Wales, Tom Jones, performing Chills & Fever on the BBC's TV show, Beat Room, in 1964. Jones is tres hot and tres studmuffin. Another Classic.
SHOWDOWN AT THE LONDON CONVENTION CENTRE
Monday, July 14 at 7 p.m. before the ETC
Where it's THE CAB BOSSES versus THE LONDON TAXI DRIVERS' ASSOCIATION and THE DISABLED
FREE ADMISSION
Alt-London has no pecuniary interest in the local taxi industry but actively supports the efforts of the LONDON TAXI DRIVERS' ASSOCIATION to free its members from the profiteering and exploitation of plate-leasing.
Justice will eventually prevail.
Slavery and feudalism should be regarded as nightmares from the distant past.
Freedom for the disabled, freedom for the drivers.
Why is Ambassador London waiting until September to hold a public participation meeting?90 votes | 0 comments
Burning Questions Plaguing Humanity
Should the City of London remove the cap on the number of wheelchair-accessible taxicab licences to better serve the disabled?293 votes | 0 comments
Burning Questions Plaguing Humanity
What is your favourite tourist attraction in London?190 votes | 1 comments
London Abused Women's Centre
THE LONDON ABUSED WOMEN'S CENTREwww.lawc.on.caProviding counselling, advocacy and support for abused women.
217 York Street Suite 107 London, Ontario 519.432.2204 E-mail: info@lawc.on.ca
'Helping abused women for more than 25 years'
To read a mind-boggling but true story of spousal/ family/ alcohol abuse Click Here.
Alt-London: London, Ontario, News and Views
Imagine if London wasn't so Chock Full of Nuts. Would the Squirrels in Ward 13's Victoria Park be so Frisky, Friendly and Ambassador-like? Probably not.
London, Ont. ~ City of London management is jeopardizing public services by demanding that CUPE Local 101 drop three grievances or go out on strike, warns the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing more than 750 municipal ‘inside’ workers.
THE INTERCOUNTY BASEBALL LEAGUE All-Stars were a little too much for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, downing the defending IBL champions 5-2 at the 2008 New-Era IBL All-Star Game at Christie Pits in Toronto.
THIS JUST IN: The London Majors trimmed the Brantford Red Sox 6-5 tonight at Labatt Park in a come-from-behind win, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out. For more details and box scores, log onto 
INTERCOUNTY GRUDGE MATCH TONIGHT AT LABATT PARK @ 7:30 PM: Tonight the Brantford Red Sox (18-10) are in town to seek revenge against the London Majors (18-8) for humiliating them twice in their own ballpark earlier in the season. If London wins this one, it'll put them a game closer to joining Barrie Baycats (20-7) in second place. This one could get ugly.
AT APPROXIMATELY 8:55 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, 2008, London Police Service officers observed a motor vehicle being operated in a suspicious manner in the area of Richmond Street and Central Avenue. 
