THE CANADIAN PRESS
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia, although technically on Toronto Blue Jays turf, was declared part of the Red Sox Nation on Monday.
Representatives of the baseball club, the province’s political leaders and diehard Red Sox fans all crowded into the Red Chamber at Province House to touch the world series trophy during a special reception.
The club brought the hardware, officially called the Commissioner’s Trophy, to Halifax for two days in recognition of the major league team’s hold on thousands of Nova Scotia baseball fans.
The room was packed with people including Darrell Corbett of Berwick, N.S., who started listening to Red Sox games on the radio as a kid in the 1940s.
Moving slowly with the help of friends and dependent on a portable oxygen tank to help him breathe, the 73-year-old BoSox booster said he wouldn’t have missed the chance to celebrate his favourite team’s victory.
“I thought I would be dead before I saw them win the World Series but now I’ve seen two,” he said, his face breaking into a wide grin.
Corbett wasn’t alone in expressing his longtime love for the Red Sox. Former legislature Speaker Art Donahoe, more likely to have been seen in the building in black robe and top hat back in the day, showed up in BoSox ball cap and T-shirt.
“I’ve been cheering for the Red Sox since I was six years old and until recently suffered all the frustrations that come with it,” he said. “When I heard the trophy was coming, I thought this is an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.”
The trophy’s arrival in Nova Scotia is the result of an unrelenting effort by the Bluenose BoSox Brotherhood, a fan club that lobbied the team to bring it north after winning its second championship in four years this past fall.
Jim Prime, who co-founded the club with Dave Ritcey in 2004, headed a letter-writing campaign that eventually won over Red Sox officials.
“This visit by the Red Sox means the world to fans here in Nova Scotia,” said Prime. “We’re honoured to have this opportunity to share in the Red Sox victory and to give sports fans in the province a chance to see the world series trophy up close.”
The 2007 trophy was escorted into the chamber by Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster and club vice-president Chuck Steedman, who presented Premier Rodney MacDonald and several cabinet ministers with Boston Red Sox jackets.
Steedman said the team was happy to bring the trophy to Halifax after realizing the support the Red Sox enjoy in the province.
“We’ve taken it elsewhere in the States and to the Dominican Republic but, really, this, in major league baseball’s eyes, is Toronto Blue Jays territory. But we respectfully disagree,” he said, laughing.
“We’re happy to come up and celebrate.”
The trophy, a 13-kilogram sterling silver sculpture, features 30 gold-plated, hand-furled flags representing each of the major league teams. The base contains an inscription and the signature of the commissioner.
Unlike other major sporting trophies like the Stanley Cup, which is passed down to the winner year-to-year, a new Commissioner’s Trophy is created every year.
It was first awarded in 1967 to the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Red Sox to take the championship.
