Wilfred 'Boomer' Harding

Wilfred 'Boomer' Harding, Chatham, ON

Wilfred "Boomer" Harding (6 August 1915 – 14 September 1991) was born in Chatham, Ontario to parents Sarah (Holmes) Harding and Andrew 'Bill' Harding. Boomer had 7 siblings by the names of Carl, Georgina, Florence, Beulah, James Leonard 'Len', Andrew, and Wanda.^[1] With his athletic abilities, Boomer not only played baseball with the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, but also hockey with the Windsor Staffords. His abilities were also highly recognized in track as well as basketball and soccer.^[1] While attending Chatham Vocational High School, Boomer won titles for pole vaulting, basketball, soccer and hockey.^[1] However, being born in 1915, when there was a color barrier in society and sports, Boomer faced many challenges and struggled to advance his sports career due to the colour of his skin. Before the 1940s, black athletes were not allowed to be part of most professional leagues and were rarely wanted in amateur leagues. Despite the constant discrimination, Boomer was known by those who were close to him as very compassionate, friendly, kind and a gentleman.^[2]

Baseball career

While he was a teenager, Boomer joined the Chatham Coloured All-Stars which was a local baseball team in Chatham, ON. Boomer's position was first baseman, but he was also known to be on the bases regularly due to his remarkable hitting capabilities.^[1] In fact, it was stated in a news article by Chatham Daily News, that Boomer "bats in third position on the line-up and is a hard man to keep off the base-paths."^[3] )The team was noticed by a local business owner, Archie Stirling and Ontario Baseball Amateur Association representative who brought them to play in the league. Being an all-black team, this was quite significant but also led to many challenges for the team regarding discrimination. Boomer was one of the team members who faced this discrimination head-on which brought him the respect of many people around him.^[1] The team was so successful in the amateur league that Boomer and the rest of the team won the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association Intermediate B Championship in 1934. This made the Chatham Coloured All-Stars the first ever all-black team to win the championship. During the time of the championship win in 1934, Boomer's batting average was .339.^[1]

World War II and beyond

In April 1940, Boomer married Joy Handsor and together they had a son, Blake Harding.^[1] Boomer joined the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II, as did a few of his other teammates. Although he was overseas with the army, Boomer still continued with his sports career by competing in pole vaulting as well as a travelling hockey team with other Canadian soldiers.^[1]

Once Boomer completed his time with the Canadian Army, he was able to return to Canada. Boomer also obtained a job at the Chatham Post Office where he worked as a letter carrier for 35 years.^[1] In 1946, Boomer made the decision to try out for the International Amateur Hockey League.^[1] Boomer's tryout was successful and he earned a spot playing hockey with the Windsor Staffords which was a Detroit Red Wings farm team. This was historically significant as it meant that Boomer broke the color barrier by being the first black player to be in the International Amateur Hockey League and also the first to skate at the Detroit Olympia. Boomer had previously been denied public skating at the arena before being a member of the hockey team. He pointed out to the staff members that there was clearly a sign stating that it was open to the public, where the staff member replied saying "well, that sign doesn't mean what you think it means.0"^[4]

Since the All-Stars had come to an end, Boomer played-on and managed a new baseball team that was formed in 1946 called the Taylor ACs and he also played for the Panthers).^[5] The teams contained many of Boomer's former teammates and years later the legacy carried on with the team containing children of the original All-Star members.^[5] In addition, Boomer also played on other baseball teams that were part of the OBAA, such as the Chatham Hadleys in 1948 and the Blenheim Braves in 1957. Boomer won another OBA championship (Intermediate A) with the Chatham Hadleys in 1948.^[6]

Later Years

Boomer retired from working at the Chatham Post Office in 1975. Since Boomer was a veteran of World War II, he was also part of the Royal Canadian Legion in Branch 628 where he played soccer in 1940s.^[1] Boomer played darts on national teams where he was titled one of the top senior players in Canada. In 1975, he won second place in the Canadian National Open Darts Tournament. For many years, Boomer also acted as an officiant in sports such as hockey and baseball in the Kent County Leagues.^[1] Having been born in times of racial segregation, Boomer never had a chance to try for major league teams in baseball or hockey.

Awards and Recognition

Throughout his lifetime, Boomer earned various medals for his achievements in sports. Other achievements include:

1934: Boomer helped bring Chatham Coloured All-Stars to be the first all-black team to win the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association Intermediate B Championship

1946: Boomer was the first black player to skate at the Detroit Olympia arena

1975: Boomer won second place in the Canadian National Open Darts Tournament

1984: 15th anniversary of 1934 OBAA win – City of Chatham awarded commemorative plaques to surviving members, Boomer attended to receive award

1988: Boomer was awarded an Olympic Gold Medal of Achievement to honour his 50 years of sport achievements where only eighteen Canadians were honoured.^[1]

2003: Boomer was inducted into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame^[4] ( )

2015: Boomer's daughter-in-law Pat Harding, had a chance encounter with University of Windsor history professor Miriam Wright and spoke about scrapbooks she created with news clippings kept by Boomer's mother. This led to a collaborative project between the Harding Family, the University of Windsor and the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, preserving the history of Boomer and the Chatham Coloured All-Stars. The project is titled Breaking the Colour Barrier: Wilfred “Boomer” Harding & the Chatham Coloured All-Stars (1932–1939).

References