Rookie League Open To Welcome Baseball Legend Fergie Jenkins

April 10, 2024 | Dan Lathey
Canada's greatest baseball icon Ferguson Jenkins stands in front of a street named after him in front of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Marys, Ontario (photo courtesy of the museum).
Canada's greatest baseball icon Ferguson Jenkins stands in front of a street named after him in front of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Marys, Ontario (photo courtesy of the museum).

The fourth annual Rookie League Open will be held on Thursday, April 18 at Topgolf OKC from 12-3 p.m. Proceeds from this important fundraiser support Rookie League baseball leagues, Nike RBI softball leagues and other programming sponsored by the Rookie League Foundation of Oklahoma. 

Serving as a special guest host for the Open will be Chicago Cubs legend and baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins. The event will include golf, lunch, a silent auction of unique items and the opportunity to meet the incomparable Mr. Jenkins. 

Registration for a team of four participants for the Open is $500, and only a couple team slots are available. Here is a link to the registration site: http://bit.ly/47lWt4I 

A native of Chatam, Ontario, Canada, Jenkins achieved a legendary 19-year Major League pitching career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox. He finished with a 284-226 career record and was in the top-three of Cy Young voting five times, winning the National League award as a Cub in 1971. Jenkins was the first pitcher in Major League history to finish his career with over 3,000 strikeouts (3,192) and under 1,000 walks (997).  

Jenkins is no stranger to Oklahoma, while serving as a pitching coach for the Oklahoma City 89ers in the late 1980s he purchased a horse ranch near Guthrie and spent nearly two decades there before relocating to Arizona. He played an indispensable role in the establishment of the Oklahoma Territorial Sports Museum in Guthrie in 1993. 

While living on the ranch, Jenkins spent many afternoons at the museum taking baseball with his long-time friend Cal McLish, an Oklahoma native who spent nearly six decades in the game as a player, coach and scout. Before gaining fame with the Cubs, Jenkins credits McLish with teaching him how to properly grip and throw a slider when he was an unproven relief pitcher and McLish served as pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in the mid 1960s. 

On the strength of undeniable credentials, Jenkins was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. He is also a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame and Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. With his legacy firmly cemented as the greatest pitcher in Cubs history, a statue of Jenkins was unveiled on Gallagher Way outside of Wrigley Field in 2022. 

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Director Scott Crawford says Jenkins’ legacy in his home country goes far beyond what he accomplished on the baseball diamond. 

“Fergie Jenkins is the greatest pitcher in Major League Baseball history to come from Canada. With his 284 wins, the 1971 CY Young award and over 3000 career strikeouts he is also one of the best pitchers to ever play the game,” Crawford said. 

 “More importantly, Fergie is a kind, gentle, respectable and dedicated person that always gives back to the community and we are proud to call him one of our Hall of Famers.”   

Jenkins continues to travel the country as one of baseball’s most beloved ambassadors. We here at the Rookie League Foundation are honored to host him during his visit to Oklahoma City in support of creating baseball and softball participation opportunities for the youth we serve in OKC and throughout the State of Oklahoma.