Fergie Jenkins

Fergie Jenkins is a retired Major League starting pitcher who played for four teams in his career, but enjoyed his greatest success with the Chicago Cubs. In 1971, Jenkins became the first Canadian baseball player to win the Cy Young Award.

A 66-year-old Jenkins appeared at Wrigley Field on May 3, 2009, as the Cubs retired uniform number 31, which both he and later Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux had worn. A banner was hoisted up the left-field foul pole in his honor.Chicago Tribune: Cubs honor Ferguson Jenkins, Greg Maddux, retire No. 31 (May 4, 2009)

Fast Facts:

Full Name: Ferguson Arthur Jenkins
Born: December 13, 1943, in Ontario, Canada
Nicknames: "Fergie" and "Jenks"
1 of 4 players in history with 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks
First Canadian baseball player to win Cy Young Award
Has two daughters

Life and Career

Born in Canada in 1943, Jenkins made his major league debut as a relief pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965. However, Jenkins really began to break out in 1967, when he won 20 games as a starter in the Cubs rotation. Between 1967 and 1974, Jenkins won 20 games or more in six consecutive seasons and in every season except for one. In 1974, Jenkins left the Cubs to pitch for the Texas Rangers and that year won a league-high and career-high 25 games, setting a team record. Jenkins then pitched for the 1976 and 1977 Boston Red Sox, before returning to the Rangers in 1978, and then closing out his career with the Cubs in 1982 and 1983.

Hall of Fame Delay

Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. One explanation for why he wasn't inducted sooner was due to a 1980 arrest in Toronto for possession of cocaine and marijuana. He was suspended by then commissioner Bowie Kuhn for the remainder of the 1980 season, before an independent arbitrator reinstated him for 1981.