Samantha Magalas

Last updated

Samantha Magalas (born April 9, 1982) became the first woman in Canadian history to play for a men's university baseball team. Samantha became the starting first baseman for York University in Toronto in 2004, and competed for the rest of the season. [1] She also became the school's first athlete to compete on both male and female sports teams, suiting up for the York University women's hockey team from 2001–2004.

Magalas was a player on the Canada women's national baseball team from 2004–2009 where she competed in three Women's Baseball World Cups, and won one silver and two bronze medals. [2] In 2004, she earned a Top Ten Player award while playing in the Women's Baseball World Series in Japan, and was named an All-Star at the Women's World Cup in Edmonton, Canada, earning the honour of best first baseman. [3] Following her playing career, Magalas joined the coaching staff from 2010 to 2015 coaching in two World Cups. She was also Canada's only female coach for the women's baseball team at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Magalas was born in Oakville, Ontario and currently lives in Windsor, where she works for the city of Windsor. Previously, she worked at OUA Ontario University Athletics as a high performance sport convenor. She also runs her own private baseball academy and continues to coach with the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guelph Gryphons</span> Athletic teams of the University of Guelph, Canada

The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports (OUA's), and, where applicable, in the west division. The university teams are often referred to as the Gryphs, which is short for the school's mascot, Gryph, the gryphon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perdita Felicien</span> Canadian hurdler

Perdita Felicien is a Canadian retired hurdler. Felicien is the 2003 World champion in the 100 metres hurdles and 2004 World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles. She also won silver medals at the 2007 World Championships, the 2010 World Indoor Championships, and twice at the Pan American Games. Her best time for the 100 metres hurdles of 12.46 secs from 2004 still stands as the Canadian record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor Lancers</span> University of Windsor athletic teams

The Windsor Lancers are the varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The school's varsity program supports 9 different sports. Their mascot is a lancer and the team's colours are blue and gold. The varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics provincial conference and the national U Sports organization. The school joined the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Lions</span> Sports teams of York University in Toronto

The York Lions is the official name for the athletic varsity teams that represent York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports and, where applicable, in the east division. The Lion's logo features a red lion from the school's logo with the university's colours, red and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Canada</span> Overview of sports within Canada

Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and cricket. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, cricket, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, equestrian, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.

Geraldine Heaney is an Irish-Canadian ice hockey coach and former defenceman. She played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games with the Toronto Aeros organization, won six Ontario provincial championships and was named Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) most valuable defenceman on three occasions. The Aeros retired her jersey number 91 in 2006. Internationally, Heaney was a member of the Canadian national team in the first seven Women's World Championships, winning gold each time. She is a two-time Olympian, winning silver at the inaugural tournament in 1998 tournament, and gold in 2002. On June 14, 2022, she became the head coach of the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's baseball</span>

Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Canada. Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. Other countries/regions that currently have organized women's baseball are Germany, France, Netherlands, Croatia, India, South Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan. There also is a handful of women playing baseball in Vietnam currently on the Fishanu team at Hanoi University and on the Hanoi Baseball Club.

Paul John James is a retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He was a one-time CONCACAF champion who represented Canada at both the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He later worked as a soccer analyst and soccer coach. He is an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginny Capicchioni</span> American lacrosse player

Ginny Capicchioni is a lacrosse goaltender. She played women's lacrosse at Sacred Heart University. After college she played men's box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League, senior Canadian Lacrosse Association, and for Team USA at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Capicchioni grew up in Oradell, New Jersey and attended River Dell Regional High School, where she played basketball, field hockey and softball.

Henry Arcado Biasatti was an Italian-Canadian National Basketball Association player and a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is the only Canadian to play at the top professional level in both sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in baseball</span>

Women have a long history in American baseball and many women's teams have existed over the years. Baseball was played at women's colleges in New York and New England as early as the mid-nineteenth century; teams were formed at Vassar College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Mount Holyoke College. An African American women's team, the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens, was formed in 1867.

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is the governing body of all intercollegiate sports in the Canadian province of Ontario. The OCAA is a part of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association. The OCAA, with Ontario University Athletics, governs post-secondary school educational sports in Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian women's ice hockey history</span>

The first instances of organized women's ice hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it was played at the university level. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891. In 1920, Lady Meredith, an avid sportswoman and wife of Sir Vincent Meredith of Montreal donated the Lady Meredith Cup to the Quebec Ladies' Hockey Association, said to be the first women's ice hockey trophy created for a competition in Canada. At the time women competed in ankle-length skirts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor City FC</span> Football club

Windsor City FC is a Canadian soccer team, based in Windsor, Ontario, that plays in League1 Ontario. The club was founded in 2004 and has previously competed in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) and Canadian Soccer League (CSL). Throughout their tenure in the CPSL/CSL, Windsor won two Open Canada Cups, one American Indoor Soccer League (AISL) Championship, and maintained a status of regular playoff contender. Around the 2008 CSL season, the club faced financial and player commitment problems which resulted in the league revoking the franchise. In 2011, former Windsor and CSL Defender of the Year Filip Rocca was granted a franchise and brought back Windsor to compete in the Canadian Soccer League. Following the de-sanctioning of the CSL by the Canadian Soccer Association the club joined the newly formed League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays their home games at the St. Clair College. The team's colours are red and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Stephenson</span> Canadian ice hockey and baseball player

Ashley Stephenson is a former two-sport athlete from Ontario who played baseball for Canada women's national baseball team and ice hockey in the original NWHL and the CWHL. She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.

Autumn Mills is a former competitor with the York Lions women's ice hockey program. She is a member of the Canada women's national baseball team which won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Asay</span> Canadian baseball and ice hockey player (1988–2022)

Amanda Karlene Asay was a Canadian baseball and ice hockey player. She played on the Canada women's national baseball team from 2005 to 2021, and was its longest-serving member at the time of her death. She batted and threw right-handed, and played at catcher, first base, and starting pitcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham Coloured All-Stars</span> Canadian amateur baseball team

The Chatham Coloured All-Stars were Canadian amateur baseball team during the 1930s. The team included notable players such as Earl "Flat" Chase, Wilfred "Boomer" Harding, Ferguson Jenkins Sr., and Willie Shaugnosh. The 1934 edition of the team broke colour barriers as the first Black team to win a title in the Ontario Baseball Association, then known as the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association.

Claire Eccles is a Canadian baseball player. She is a left-handed pitcher who throws three pitches, including a knuckleball. She has been a member of the women's national baseball team of Canada, and has competed in the 2014 and 2016 Women's Baseball World Cups as well as the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2017, she joined the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League and became the first woman to play in that league. She was also a member of the softball team at the University of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Thomas (athlete)</span> Canadian football, baseball, and basketball player

Fred Thomas was a Canadian multi-sport professional athlete. He played on semi-professional or professional teams in basketball, baseball, and Canadian football. He was a standout on his college basketball team and is known as one of Canada's finest basketball players. A 2019 profile by TVOntario described Thomas as "the greatest Canadian athlete you've never heard of". He would likely have been more well-known had blacks not been denied opportunities to compete in major professional sports leagues in the 1940s and 1950s.

References

  1. Spencer, Donna (September 10, 2004). "Woman earns spot on York men's squad". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  2. "Samantha Magalas: jack of all trades". Baseball Canada. March 1, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  3. "Media Guide, 2008" (PDF). Baseball Canada. p. 17. Retrieved July 8, 2020.