Gouy Ladd
1909-1975
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Born to Frederick Ladd and Christina Johnson in Chatham in 1909. Gouy had three siblings: Burton, Chriselda, and Doris. He played right and centre field for the All-Stars. A 1934 newspaper report noted his strong hitting: “Gouy Ladd, who may soon be placed nearer to the top of the batting order, walloped the longest one of the day, a triple that refused to stop til it hit the fence” (Chatham Daily News, September 27, 1934). Ladd remained active with baseball long after the Chatham Coloured All-stars victory in 1934. He was involved in coaching the Kent Concretes during the 1960s. He married Betty Steer and together they had one child, Juanita Tamara Ladd. He worked as a truck driver and was also the supervisor of Chatham’s garbage collection department.
In Other Words
“Gouy Ladd, who may soon be placed nearer to the top of the batting order walloped the longest one of the day, a triple that refused to stop ‘til it hit the fence. Ladd has never been noted for his hitting—he’s an exceptionally good centre fielder— but his stick work of late has been a big aid to the Stars” (Calder, "Stars That Shine," Chatham Daily News, September 27, 1934).
“Goy Ladd was an outfielder, he played right field. Goy was a good ball player. Couldn’t run very fast but he was a pretty good ball player and he was a pretty good batter. He got his amount of hits the same as anybody else. He was tall and he was slim. He missed very few ballgames” (Harding-Milburn, "The Chatham All-Stars: An Interview with Kingsley Terrell," Polyphony 7, (1985): 111-120).
Resources
Articles
- Daniel J. Kelly, "The Chatham Coloured All-Stars 1933-34," http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/hardingpub/1
- Lauren A. Miceli, "The 1943 Chatham Colored All-Stars: Barnstorming to Championships," The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History 4 no. 1 (2016): 8-16.
- Wanda Harding-Milburn, "The Chatham All-Stars: An Interview with Kingsley Terrell," Polyphony 7 no. 1 (1985): 111-116.
Newspapers
- Jack Calder, "Stars That Shine," Chatham Daily News, September 27, 1934.
- "Chatham's First Champs Played Game for Fun,” London Free Press, October 20, 1967.
- Canada Voters List, from Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society