Boomer Harding facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Boomer Harding
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Harding in 1934
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| Born |
Wilfred Harding
August 6, 1915 Chatham, Ontario, Canada
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| Died | September 14, 1991 (aged 76) |
| Occupation | Athlete, letter carrier |
| Years active | c. 1933 – c. 1988 |
| Known for | Baseball player with the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, ice hockey player with the Windsor Staffords |
| Spouse(s) | Joy Handsor |
| Children | 1 |
Wilfred "Boomer" Harding (born August 6, 1915 – died September 14, 1991) was a talented Canadian athlete. He played many different sports. He is best known as a baseball player for the Chatham Coloured All-Stars. He also made history as the first Black player in the International Hockey League.
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About Boomer Harding
Boomer Harding was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Sarah and Andrew Harding. He had seven brothers and sisters.
Boomer was amazing at many sports. He played baseball, ice hockey, basketball, and soccer. He was also good at track and field. While in high school, he won awards for pole vaulting, basketball, soccer, and hockey.
However, Boomer faced many challenges. He was born in 1915, a time when there was a "color barrier." This meant that people were treated unfairly because of their skin color. Black athletes like Boomer were often not allowed to play in professional sports leagues. They were also rarely wanted in amateur leagues.
Despite this unfair treatment, Boomer was known as a very kind and friendly person. He was always a gentleman.
Baseball Star
When he was a teenager, Boomer joined the Chatham Coloured All-Stars. This was a local baseball team in Chatham, Ontario. Boomer played as a first baseman. He was known for being a great hitter. The Chatham Daily News newspaper said he was "a hard man to keep off the base-paths." This means he often got on base.
A local business owner, Archie Stirling, noticed the team. He helped them join the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association (OBAA) league. It was a big deal for an all-Black team to join. They faced a lot of unfair treatment. Boomer was one of the players who dealt with this discrimination directly. This earned him a lot of respect.
In 1934, the team won the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association Intermediate B Championship. They were the first Black team to win a championship in that league. In that winning year, Boomer had a .339 batting average. This shows he was a very strong hitter.
Life During and After World War II
In April 1940, Boomer married Joy Handsor. They had one son named Blake. Boomer joined the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II. Some of his teammates also joined the army. Even while serving overseas with the Canadian Army, Boomer kept playing sports. He competed in pole vaulting and played on a traveling hockey team with other Canadian soldiers.
After the war, Boomer returned to Canada. He got a job at the Chatham Post Office. He worked as a letter carrier for 35 years.
In 1946, Boomer decided to try out for the International Amateur Hockey League. He was successful and joined the Windsor Staffords. This team was a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. This was a huge moment in history. Boomer was the first Black player in the International Amateur Hockey League. He may also have been the first Black player to skate at the Detroit Olympia arena. Before joining the Staffords, he was once denied entry to the ice. A staff member told him a sign saying "open to the public" did not apply to him. He eventually got to skate there as a member of the Staffords.
The Chatham Coloured All-Stars team eventually ended. But Boomer continued playing baseball. In 1946, he played on and managed a new team called the Taylor ACs. This team later became the Taylor AC Panthers and then the Kent Panthers. Many of Boomer's old teammates joined these new teams. Years later, their children also played on the team. Boomer also played for other teams in the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA). These included the Chatham Hadleys in 1948 and the Blenheim Braves in 1957. He won another OBA championship (Intermediate A) with the Chatham Hadleys in 1948.
Later Years and Retirement
Boomer retired from the Chatham Post Office in 1975. As a veteran of World War II, he was also part of the Royal Canadian Legion. He played soccer there in the 1940s.
He was also a top darts player in Canada. In 1975, he won second place in the Canadian National Open Darts Tournament. For many years, Boomer also worked as an officiant (a referee or umpire) for hockey and baseball games in the Kent County Leagues. Because he was born during a time of racial segregation, Boomer never had the chance to try out for major league teams in baseball or hockey.
Boomer Harding's Legacy
Boomer Harding received many awards and honors during his life. Here are some of his achievements:
- 1934: Boomer helped the Chatham Coloured All-Stars become the first Black team to win the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association Intermediate B Championship.
- 1946: Boomer was the first Black player to skate at the Detroit Olympia arena.
- 1975: Boomer won second place in the Canadian National Open Darts Tournament.
- 1984: The City of Chatham gave special awards to the surviving members of the 1934 OBAA winning team. Boomer received his award at the 50th anniversary event.
- 1988: Boomer was given an Olympic Gold Medal of Achievement. This honored his 50 years of sports achievements. Only 18 Canadians received this award.
- 2003: Boomer Harding was added to the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Boomer's daughter-in-law, Pat Harding, met a history professor from the University of Windsor. Pat shared scrapbooks filled with news clippings about Boomer. These had been kept by Boomer's mother. This meeting led to a special project. The Harding family, the University of Windsor, and the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame worked together. They wanted to preserve the history of Boomer and the Chatham Coloured All-Stars. The project is called "Breaking the Colour Barrier: Wilfred 'Boomer' Harding & the Chatham Coloured All-Stars (1932-1939)."
