Earl "Flat" Chase

Earl "Flat" Chase, c 1934

Earl ‘Flat’ Chase (16 August 1910 – 5 May 1954) was born in North Buxton, ON to parents, George Chase and Elva Gambril.^[1] Chase had eight siblings: Arthur, Viola, Lloyd, Harold, Edith, Richard, Ilene and Ione. Chase was known as power hitter and pitcher on the barrier breaking baseball team, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars. The team was the first all-black baseball time to win an Ontario Baseball Amateur Association (OBAA) title.^[2]

When Chase moved to Windsor, ON in the 1920s, his home was located across the street from a ball park where he spent majority of his free time.^[3] By 15 years old, Chase was playing on baseball teams through churches such as the Second Baptist Church and the Detroit Church League Champs.^[4] Chase continued playing baseball and was quite well known throughout the community. He was said to be a "very versatile player as he could catch, pitch, and play all infield positions".^[5] In 1934, Chase was recruited to play with the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, where he was a tremendous asset to the team. In fact, during the 1934 championship win, Chase was able to out-pitch the opposition Phil Marchildon on the Penetanguishene team.^[6]

Much like teammate, Wilfred 'Boomer' Harding, it was said that the one factor that might have kept Chase out of the major leagues in the 1930s was the colour of his skin.^[7] Multiple teammates made similar statements suggesting that "Chase should have been a big league pitcher.".^[8] This was not surprising due to the fact Chase’s pitches ranged from 80–100 miles per hour and he had set many records for longest hits across different baseball parks.^[9] Some of his records for longest ball hits were in Sarnia, Strathroy, Aylmer, Welland, Milton, and Chatham. One of Chase’s most talked about moments was when he once hit .700 while he was playing in the Chatham City League.^[10] Boomer Harding stated that once during a game in Welland ON, Chase hit the ball so hard that "the ball not only cleared the right field fence, it cleared a building way behind the fence" and eventually was said to land in downtown Welland.^[11]

Aside from the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, Chase played on various other baseball teams including the London Majors, Patterson Cars, Windsor City League Champions, Windsor Stars, Chatham Shermans, Chatham Hadleys and Arcades.^[12] He even played with the Taylor ACs where many other former All-Stars and their children went to play. While part of the London Majors, he helped bring them to victory by pitching the Canadian Sandlot Congress championship in 1944.^[13] In addition to playing baseball, Chase worked in a sanitation department in Chatham, ON. He married Julia Ethel Black in 1934 and together they had four children, Earl Jr., Horace, Marilyn, and Gladys.^[14] Chase’s two sons, Earl Jr. and Horace later followed in their father’s footsteps and played with the Panthers in the 1950s.^[15]

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