Learning the history behind Wilfred (Boomer) Harding and the Chatham Coloured All-Stars will soon be a click away.
Over the past couple of years, Dr. Miriam Wright and Dr. Heidi Jacobs with the University of Windsor, have been collecting personal items from the baseball players' families in order to create a website "Breaking the Colour Barrier: Wilfred 'Boomer' Harding and the Chatham Coloured All-Stars."
Dr.Miriam Wright (left) and Dr.Heidi Jacobs (right) at Blackburn Radio. June 8, 2017. (Photo by Natalia Vega).
"Our project began two years ago when we were approached by the Harding family to perhaps digitize and make a website out of the scrapbook collection they had," says Wright. "Harding had been a member of the Chatham Coloured All-Stars team in 1934 -- which became the first black baseball team to win a provincial championship."
However, Wright says the project began to grow into something larger.
"We decided that we would also do an oral history project where we would interview family members of the original 1934 championship team and get their memories," says Wright.
The website will launch Saturday as part during a ceremony at the Wish Centre in Chatham.
Although the website goes up this weekend, Wright says they're still looking to add to it.
Jacobs says they're expecting a large crowd at the celebration, adding that there may even be some strong emotions.
"We've got the Harding family, we have a number of sons of players coming and I think we're all pretty emotional about this -- it's a really moving event," says Jacobs. "I think people are really excited to share their [stories] with the larger community."
The event will be held Saturday afternoon from 1pm-3pm.