Storied east end Hamilton ballpark and baseball program honoured

Barry Quinn, younger brother of the late Pat Quinn, recalls the big Irishman playing catcher and hammering many balls out of Mahony Park when he was just 15.

“I was the batboy,” said Quinn. “I had to chase all the foul balls that were hit out on to Superior (now Barton) Street to make sure they didn’t go down a catch basin.

“Baseballs were few and far between at that time and this allowed the games to continue.”

Former Hamilton mayor and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Bob Bratina was a teammate of Quinn’s. in those days.


Some Mahoney Park Irregulars: 1955 Ed Hare Dodgers Bantam champs. Bob Bratina (back row left) and Pat Quinn (Back row third from left)

Future NHL Hall of Famers Ken Dryden and Dave Andreychuk also played baseball at Mahony when they were kids. And Wayne Gretzky pitched there for the Brantford peewees in 1973.

Quinn, who went on to play 606 NHL games for Toronto, Vancouver and Atlanta, also grew up playing hockey on an outdoor homemade rink in Mahony Park

At the 80th anniversary of the association on Saturday a banner was unveiled dedicating the batting cage to the memory of Don Wright who spent countless hours pitching batting practice to boys. Don’s son Brad and Rosanne Whittaker, daughter of the late John Whittaker, another longtime volunteer, officiated at the unveiling.

Brad Wright unveils the banner honoring his father Don.

The night before association president Matt Oliphant threw out the ceremonial first pitch and Mahony players were honored before the Hamilton Cardinals trounced the Toronto Maple Leafs 12-5 at Bernie Arbour Stadium.


Over the years Mahony has produced some outstanding teams.

In 1981 the Mahony Park midgets were involved in one of the all-time classic games at the Leaside Invitational Midget Tournament at Toronto’s Talbot Park.

Dennis Reynolds, incredibly, went the distance on the mound as Mahony edged Welland 2-1 in 21 innings. Pat Roberts won the game in the top of the 21st with a home run. The game lasted five hours.

Dean Castelli, manger of Cardinals, was a member of the Mahony midget team that won a silver medal at the 1987 Canadian championship.

The Mahony Baseball Association was formed in 1943 and two years later, in August of 1945 shortly before the end of the Second World War, a field day was staged there with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders band playing for a concert in the evening.

The park was named for Thomas Joseph Mahony (1881-1961) who settled in Hamilton in the early 1900s after emigrating from Ireland.

Mahony served as a member of the Hamilton city council for a time and also as the managing director of the Ontario Good Roads Association. He served three terms in the Ontario Legislature as a Conservative member for Wentworth South.

According to the Hamilton Public Library’s digital archives, his dedication to improving and building roads earned Mahony the moniker ‘Mr. Good Roads’ and saw him named ‘Man of the year’ in 1954 by the International Road Federation.