Sport Slices

It was a rather cool, unpleasant day in October. The Toronto Blue Jays were in a battle with the New York Yankees in the American League East. It was October 4^th, to be precise, in 1985. I kept score, diligently, in those days. I had been taught a “proper” scoring method by Homer “Red” Townsend at Belleville Collegiate Institute and Vocational School, in a Health class. More than 60 years later, I still use most of the same scoring indicators: “K” for a strike out, “BB” for a walk, “SB” for a stolen base, and many other letters and scratches. The idea was that I could look at the page and replay the game with some precision, years later. Advanced techniques in television do that for us now.

On that day, my score card served another function. I used it to gather the autographs of three individuals seated behind us at Exhibition Stadium: Eugene Levy, John Candy, and Larry Grossman. Levy and Candy were comedians I admired, Grossman was a Toronto businessman and politician. There was a rain delay at the game, and I took that opportunity to get them to sign, which they did, graciously. Candy wrote: “Thanks for watching SCTV”. Levy wrote: “All De best”. Grossman simply wrote his name.

We did chat a bit about the weather, and the game. I could be mistaken, but I believe they were at the game with their mothers. I did hear Candy laugh, occasionally. It was worth the price of admission. There was a record crowd on hand that day, 47 686.

The Blue Jays lost that game. The Yankees rallied in the top of the 9^th. The rally began at the bottom of the order. They plated a couple of runs before Winfield hit into a fielder's choice, and Don Mattingly was thrown out at 2^nd base. Rickey Henderson was left standing at 3^rd base. Lloyd Moseby geounded to second in the bottom of the 9^th to end the game. Yankees 4-Blue Jays 3.

The Jays won the following day behind Doyle Alexander, and went on to face the Kansas City Royals for the pennant. They did lose the pennant, but a banner still flies at the Rogers Centre, along with the two World Series markers.

Eugene Levy, now 73 years of age, teamed up with his son and daughter to star in a situation comedy called “Schitt's Creek”. It first aired on January 15, 2015. Last weekend, the show won seven Emmy awards for comedy. It is a record for the most awards in a comedy series. Levy won as the top actor, his son David as the best supporting actor. Catherine O'Hara was selected as the best actress, and Annie Murphy won as the best supporting actress, playing Alexis, Levy's daughter. Eugene's daughter, Sarah, also had a role in the show as the desk clerk.

There are 80 episodes of the show, spread over 6 seasons. The Rose family, (the Levys), have been forced to relocate to a small town that they purchased as a joke. The mayor of the village, Roland Schitt, is played by Chris Elliott. Most of the outdoor scenes were shot in the Toronto area: Unionville, Goodwood, and Mono, to name a few.

Throughout his career, Levy, the father has always played zany characters, during the ten years at SCTV, and in the 8 movies of American Pie. He also starred in several movies directed by Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman, and my personal favourite, Best in Show.

A quick peek at Wikipedia will give you an appreciation of the work by Levy. Another great Canadian comic, and a faithful Jays' fan.

And yes, they finally beat the Yankees on last Monday night, after several unsuccessful attempts.

James Hurst

September 22, 2020