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FERGIE
M y L I F E
F Ro M t h E C u b s
t o C o o p E R s t ow n
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FERGIE
M y L I F E
F Ro M t h E C u b s
t o C o o p E R s t ow n
•
Ferguson Jenkins
with Lew Freedman
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Copyright © 2009 by Ferguson Jenkins
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher, triumph books, 542 south Dearborn street,
suite 750, Chicago, Illinois 60605.
triumph books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random house, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jenkins, Ferguson, 1943-
Fergie : My life from the Cubs to Cooperstown / Ferguson Jenkins, with Lew Freedman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Isbn 978-1-60078-171-1
1. Jenkins, Ferguson, 1943- 2. baseball players—united states—biography. 3. African
American baseball players—biography. 4. Chicago Cubs (baseball team) I. Freedman,
Lew. II. title.
GV865.J38A3 2009
796.357092--dc22
[b]
2008050289
this book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization. For
further information, contact:
Triumph Books
542 south Dearborn street
suite 750
Chicago, Illinois 60605
(312) 939-3330
Fax (312) 663-3557
printed in u.s.A.
Isbn: 978-1-60078-171-1
Design by sue Knopf
photos courtesy of Fergie Jenkins unless otherwise indicated
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This book is dedicated to my mother,
Delores Louise Jenkins,
to my father, Ferguson Jenkins Sr.,
and to my children,
Kimberly, Kelly, Delores, and Raymond.
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Contents
F o r e wo r d
by billy williams
ix
I n t r o d u c t I o n by Lew Freedman
xiii
c h a p t e r 1
hall of Fame
1
c h a p t e r 2
Growing up in Chatham: Choosing a sport
9
c h a p t e r 3
Family
17
c h a p t e r 4
preparing for pro ball
25
c h a p t e r 5
turning pro
33
c h a p t e r 6
Moving up in the Minors, winter ball
47
c h a p t e r 7
A Major Change
65
c h a p t e r 8
starting for the Cubs
73
c h a p t e r 9
winning in Chicago
81
c h a p t e r 10
A harlem Globetrotter
89
c h a p t e r 11
1969
95
c h a p t e r 1 2
Inside pitching
101
c h a p t e r 13
After the ’69 Collapse
109
c h a p t e r 14
the Catcher: A pitcher’s best Friend
117
c h a p t e r 1 5
six straight 20-win seasons and the Cy young 123
c h a p t e r 16
texas
131
c h a p t e r 17
boston
141
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c h a p t e r 18
the Achilles Injury
147
c h a p t e r 19
back in texas
153
c h a p t e r 2 0
End of playing Days
157
c h a p t e r 21
hunting and Fishing
163
c h a p t e r 2 2
oh, Canada
171
c h a p t e r 2 3
personal tragedies
177
c h a p t e r 2 4
Coaching baseball
185
c h a p t e r 2 5
Conclusion
191
S o u r c e S
198
a b o u t t h e au t h o r
199
I n d e x
201
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Foreword
when Ferguson Jenkins joined the Cubs, we became friends very
quickly. we both enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing when
we were away from the ballpark. Fergie had a daughter, and my wife
and I had four daughters, so our families became friends, too. I met
his relatives from Canada and some of his other close friends back in
Chatham.
Right from the start, we rode back and forth to wrigley Field
together from the Chicago suburbs and talked the whole time about
baseball, fishing, and hunting. A lot of the other guys played golf, but
I didn’t, so I was glad to have somebody on the team who enjoyed the
same hobbies I did. we got to know each other really well and hit it
off right away.
when Fergie first came over to the Cubs from the philadelphia
phillies in 1966, he was a bullpen pitcher. but Leo Durocher, our
manager at the time, saw this tall, lanky guy, and Fergie showed Leo
something that made him think he would be a good starting pitcher for
us. so, the following year, he made Fergie a starter, and that changed
things for the Cubs, for baseball, and for Fergie. It was the true begin-
ning of his hall of Fame career.
Fergie and I also enjoyed raising hunting dogs. we kept them at a
friend’s place in barrington and went bird hunting there, a lot of pheas-
ant hunting. we had a lot of good times together, in baseball and away
from the ballpark. At one point, Fergie and I bought a boat together, a
25-foot Chris-Craft, and used it to fish on Lake Michigan.
ix
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F e r g I e
we were just two young guys trying to pick something up to use for
fun. but then we realized we had no place to park the boat. we found
out that it was pretty hard to get a slip in one of the Chicago harbors
on Lake Michigan. we called up the city, and they told us there was
no room. we didn’t know what to do. we needed a place for the boat.
then we called someone we knew, and I don’t know what he did, but
he might have told somebody it was two stars for the Chicago Cubs
who needed space, because about six hours later someone called and
said, “we found a slip for you.”
having Fergie on the t
eam was a lot of fun for me because he liked
to do some of the things I liked to do, but he was a great addition to
the Cubs’ pitching staff. Any time Fergie went out to the mound, it
gave us a lot of confidence that we were going to win the ballgame that
day. the numbers and records prove that. he didn’t give up too many
hits, and he didn’t give up too many runs. whenever he went to the
mound, it reassured us that we were going to be in the ballgame. we
knew he was going to pitch a good ballgame, and most likely he was
going to win.
Fergie had control, and he had the pitches to get hitters out. Every
now and then he would position his outfielders. he would turn his
back to the plate and face me and put one hand over his navel, point
his fingers, and tell me to move over a couple of feet. he had such
control with his pitches that he was pretty sure where the ball would
go when the hitters hit it. he put me closer to the foul line, and the
ball would be hit there. Fergie was one of the only pitchers I knew who
could do that.
For a period of time, Fergie and I had this thing going that when
the season started we would each write down our goals, put them in an
envelope, and put them away in our lockers. he would write down how
many games he was going to win. they were goals we had for ourselves,
and nobody knew what they were besides us.
A lot of Cubs players were together for several years in the 1960s,
and we shared the 1969 season when we thought we were going to
win the pennant. Guys like Ernie banks, Ron santo, Randy hundley,
Glenn beckert, Don Kessinger, Fergie, and I became very close. we had
x
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F o r e wo r d
great chemistry and spent a lot of time together. It was a case of a close-
knit ballclub, and we enjoyed each other. there weren’t two or three
weeks that went by when we didn’t congregate with all of our families.
our wives were together and talked. we have kept our friendships
going for 40 years. Randy hundley’s fantasy baseball camps have had a
lot to do with that. that brings a lot of us together every year.
Fergie has had some tragedies in his life, and when his wife Mary
Anne was killed in that automobile crash, we had just come off a
cruise together. then when his little girl was killed, we all reached out
to Fergie, called him on the phone to let him know we were thinking
about him, and convinced him to come to Arizona for one of the fan-
tasy camps when he otherwise would have stayed home. It was a chance
for us to help him a little bit and boost his feelings.
when Fergie was going through those tragic moments, it was a
good thing that we all congregated. we had a sit-down dinner, about
25 of us, and sat around and talked baseball. that was good therapy for
Fergie. he has had some difficult times, but he has bounced back.
Fergie spends a lot of time doing charity work. he flies all over the
country. Any athlete who appreciates what he has gained through play-
ing professional sports is conscious of giving back, and Fergie does a
lot. I really do admire what he’s doing. he’s doing a great job with it.
—Billy Williams
Hall of Fame 1987
xi
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Introduction
when a baseball fan mentions the name “Ferguson,” everyone knows
he is talking about Ferguson Jenkins. Ferguson is a more common last
name than first name. the recognition factor is probably even higher if
the name “Fergie” is uttered because that’s Jenkins’ nickname and his
preferred method of identification.
Fergie is an informal name, and Jenkins is not a man who holds
much with pretense. he is an informal guy who enjoys greeting people
and estimates he has signed 1 million autographs over the last four and
a half decades. If throwing a fastball 90 miles per hour did not leave
him with any soreness in his right hand, arm, or shoulder, scrawling his
signature should at least produce writer’s cramp.
From the time he first adapted to pitching as a schoolboy in
Chatham, ontario, until he retired from Major League baseball in
1983, Ferguson Jenkins was a marvel on the mound. he concluded a
19-year big-league career with the philadelphia phillies, Chicago Cubs,
texas Rangers, and boston Red sox, with 284 victories and 226 losses
for a .557 winning percentage.
Jenkins won at least 20 games in a season six years in a row and
seven times in eight years. he is one of an elite corps of pitchers to
strike out more than 3,000 batters in a career, and his lifetime earned-
run average was 3.34. Jenkins’ longevity, productivity, and excellence
earned him induction into the national baseball hall of Fame in 1991.
he was the first Canadian citizen—and remains the only Canadian—so
honored.
xiii
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F e r g I e
A tremendous athlete who excelled in a number of sports as a
youngster—and remains an avid hunter, fisherman, and all-around
outdoorsman as well as an active golfer—Jenkins channeled his skills
into befuddling batters and achieving rare distinctions during his play-
ing days.
Jenkins is a man of many parts. he was a Canadian in the united
states’ national pastime. he was a black man who overcame discrimi-
nation in the American south. he was the toast of big cities from
Chicago to Dallas, but never forgot his small-town roots. he had a
natural gift, but after retiring as a baseball player, he sought to teach
pitching wizardry as a coach. Jenkins is a man who has reaped the
financial benefits of being a famous athlete, but gives back to his com-
munities—American and Canadian—with passionate fund-raising for
good causes and makes himself available for events coast-to-coast in
both countries to help others.
Jenkins has been a very fortunate man in many ways, but he has
endured terrible personal tragedies and had his faith in God tested by
them. there have been unforeseen challenges over the years that might
have left another man bitter, but he has persevered. As there often is
for anyone who lives long enough, there has been glory and heartbreak
for Jenkins along the way.
best remembered for his high-flying days with the Chicago Cubs
(though he is also enshrined in the texas Rangers’ team hall of Fame),
Jenkins has fond memories (and stories from) each of his major-league
clubs. with some, it was because of the success he enjoyed. with
others, it was simply because of the good company—teammates—who
contributed to making his stays tremendous fun.
Jenkins was a well-paid athlete for his time, but by modern stan-
dards he was underpaid. During Jenkins’ prime pitching years in the
1960s and 1970s, the top salaries earned by superstars in baseball
surpassed $100,000 but peaked out at hank Aaron’s $200,000-a-year
r /> contract.
Mixed in with his active travel and donation of his time for
charitable work, including raising money for the Ferguson Jenkins
Foundation (an ontario-based organization that contributes to worthy
xiv
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I n t r o d u c t I o n
groups in Canada and the united states), Jenkins also travels exten-
sively, making personal appearances where he is one of the star attrac-
tions. And when the Cubs call, Jenkins is a willing vocalist, leading the
singing of “take Me out to the ballgame” during the seventh-inning
stretch at wrigley Field.
Few people are as much in need of a planner in their suitcase as
Jenkins. If it’s tuesday, it must be a sports collectible store in Chicago
on the Fergie itinerary. If it’s wednesday, it must be Cooperstown for
a hall of Fame event. If it’s thursday, it must be Kansas City for a golf
tournament. to Jenkins, a handy calendar with commitments penciled
in is as important as carrying his frequent flyer number in his wallet at
all times. have carry-on satchel, will go.
For a two-hour autograph appearance at a new store called the
Fan’s Edge in a Chicago suburb during the 2008 baseball season,
Jenkins settled into a cushy armchair in front of a spare table and
greeted a line of fans that extended most of the length of the store and
out the door into the shopping mall corridor. the store sponsored
Jenkins’ appearance as part of its grand opening strategy, so the auto-
graphs were free to patrons.
some of the fans were gray-haired, clearly old enough to have
cheered for Jenkins when he pitched for the Cubs for the last time
25 years earlier. some of the children accompanying parents or grand-
parents did not really know who he was, but were urged to pose for
pictures with the hall of Famer in hopes that they would appreciate
the moment later, when they are older. some were teenage boys who
were sports memorabilia collectors wishing to add to their private stash
of baseball souvenirs.
Jenkins keeps his head clean-shaven in Michael Jordan style (“I’m
bald,” he says), wears a small earring in his left ear, and for such casual
public appearances dresses casually in shirts that do not require tucking
into the slacks that are fancier than jeans, but less formal than dress
pants. Each time Jenkins cupped a gleaming, naked white baseball
before autographing it, he showed off his large hands. the combina-