Hall of Fame pitcher
Fergie Jenkins has his face on plenty of baseball cards.
You can also find his mug in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the first Canadian inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The face of Canada’s major league pitching legend now has a new home: on bottles of wine from Rockway Glen Estate Winery.
“It’s kind of unique, but fun to see,” Jenkins said as he warmed up for his annual charity golf tournament at Rockway Glen.
“I like wine. Give me a nice Cabernet or Merlot and I’ll love it.”
Jenkins’ vino visage will grace four products: a 2007 Vidal, a 2006 Cabernet Merlot, a 2007 Baco Noir and a 2007 Riesling, said Rockway Glen general manager Reid Strongman.
The first two, part of a Hall of Fame collection, will be available in Boston Pizza restaurants across Ontario during baseball playoffs, he said.
Otherwise, all of the wines will be available at the winery in St. Catharines.
“He just made sense for us, as a real fine gentleman and a great representative of Canada,” Strongman said.
Jenkins retired from professional baseball after 18 seasons, mostly with the Chicago Cubs, in 1983.
A strikeout specialist, Jenkins was the first Canadian winner of the Cy Young Award, the top major league pitching honour which he earned in 1971.
He also played in the off-season with the famed Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and is an officer of the Order of Canada.
Jenkins has held annual charity golf tournaments in Niagara wine country for 10 years, so the idea was planted in fertile ground.
“I liked the idea, especially since a portion of the sales (between five and 10 per cent) go to my foundation,” Jenkins said.
The Fergie Jenkins Foundation supports several Ontario charities.
His celebrity charity golf tournament begins today, featuring 40 famous faces such as former Blue Jay Paul Molitor and former sprinter Donovan Bailey.
Fergie Jenkins wines, ranging in price from $12.95 to $13.95, will be available at the winery within a week.