Ferguson Jenkins played Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
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Ferguson Jenkins played Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
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Ferguson Jenkins was a National League and Cubs All-Star for three seasons, and in 1971, he was the first Canadian and Cubs pitcher to win a Cy Young Award.
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Ferguson Jenkins was a 20-game winner for seven seasons, including six consecutive seasons for the Cubs.
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Ferguson Jenkins was the NL leader in wins, in 1971, and the American League leader in wins, in 1974.
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Ferguson Jenkins became the first Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991; he remained the only one until Larry Walker's election in 2020.
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Ferguson Jenkins's father, a chef and chauffeur, was the son of immigrants from Barbados, while his mother was a descendant of American slaves who escaped through the Underground Railroad before settling in Southwestern Ontario.
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Talented athlete, Ferguson Jenkins competed in track and field, ice hockey, and basketball in his school years, lettering five times.
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Ferguson Jenkins honed his pitching skills by throwing pieces of coal from a local coal yard, aiming at either an open ice chute or the gaps of passing boxcars.
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Ferguson Jenkins was encouraged to continue working on his pitching by Gene Dziadura, a former shortstop in the Chicago Cubs minor league system, and a Philadelphia Phillies scout.
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In 1962, Ferguson Jenkins was signed by Philadelphia Phillies scout Tony Lucadello.
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Ferguson Jenkins made his major-league debut as a 22-year-old in 1965, as a relief pitcher.
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Ferguson Jenkins would become one of the best pitchers in the majors.
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Ferguson Jenkins finished tied for second in the Cy Young Award voting, following Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants.
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Ferguson Jenkins was selected for the All-Star Game for the first time that season.
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Ferguson Jenkins established a reputation for achieving his pitching feats and his statistics while spending most of his career pitching in a "hitter's ballpark"—Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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Ferguson Jenkins pitched the complete game for the Cubs, and Billy Williams hit a home run in the final inning for the victory.
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Ferguson Jenkins walked only 37 batters versus 263 strikeouts across 325 innings.
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Ferguson Jenkins played in the All-Star Game and finished seventh in MVP voting.
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Ferguson Jenkins was the first Cubs pitcher and the first Canadian to win the Cy Young Award .
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Ferguson Jenkins was outpitched in several statistical categories by New York Mets pitcher Tom Seaver, but Jenkins pitched in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field and Seaver worked in pitcher-friendly Shea Stadium.
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In 1972, Ferguson Jenkins completed his sixth consecutive season with 20 or more wins.
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In 1974, Ferguson Jenkins achieved a personal best 25 wins during the season, setting a Rangers franchise record which still stands.
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Ferguson Jenkins finished second in Cy Young Award voting for the second time in his career behind Catfish Hunter in a very close vote ; surprisingly, Jenkins actually finished ahead of Hunter in MVP voting, and his fifth-place finish on the MVP leader-board was the highest of his career.
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Ferguson Jenkins was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year by The Sporting News.
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However, Ferguson Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter, Raymond Goetz, overturned the suspension and reinstated him and he returned to the league.
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Ferguson Jenkins was not punished further by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the 1983 season.
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Ferguson Jenkins led the league in wins twice, fewest walks per 9 innings five times, complete games nine times, and home runs allowed seven times.
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Ferguson Jenkins is considered the anchor of the 12 Black Aces, a group of pitchers with at least 20 wins in one season.
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Ferguson Jenkins was named the Canadian Press male athlete of the year four times .
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The 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held in Toronto, was dedicated to Ferguson Jenkins; he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to conclude the pregame ceremonies.
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Ferguson Jenkins was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and was inducted onto Canada's Walk of Fame in 2001.
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Ferguson Jenkins was appointed the commissioner of the now-defunct Canadian Baseball League in 2003; the league's Jenkins Cup went missing when the league folded and has been missing ever since.
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Ferguson Jenkins was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2004.
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