In a submission sponsored by Dundas Museum and Archives president Clare Crozier, with supporting letters from Dundas Valley Historical Society president Stan Nowak, former Hamilton Public Library archivist and historian Brian Henley, and the Dundas Star News, the Dundas baseball star’s name was put forward for consideration in early 2009. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 31, 2008.

“When I was informed of the suggestion that “Chub” Collins be nominated for inclusion in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the first thought that came to mind was that in terms of 19th century baseball in Canada, it would be hard to come up with a more worthy Candidate,” Mr. Henley wrote in a letter supporting the nomination.

Charles Augustine “Chub” Collins was born in Dundas on Oct. 12, 1857 to Bernard and Maria Collins. Bernard built the Collins Hotel on King Street in downtown Dundas in 1841 – 16 years before Charles was born. He reached the Major Leagues, but his greatest achievements were in Canada while living in Dundas.

Charles was already building a name for himself as a great young baseball player by the early 1870s. He played shortstop for the “Kid Nines”, a Dundas adult team, and then the Standards in Hamilton.

By the 1880s Collins was being scouted by major league teams in the United States. Hamilton and Dundas were considered significant centres of baseball talent at the time, and as one of the best area players, Collins got a lot of attention.

Dundas’ baseball star signed a contract with the Buffalo Bisons of the National League and played his first major league game on May 1, 1884. He was just the 17th Canadian to play Major League Baseball.

Collins played 45 games for Buffalo during the 1884 season, 42 at second base and three at shortstop. Though his statistics weren’t earth-shattering, they did surpass those of most of the Canadians who preceded him into the Major Leagues. Collins had 30 hits, including six doubles, and scored 24 runs, walked 14 times and drove in 20 runs.

He finished 1884 with the Indianapolis Blues. In 38 games there he had 31 hits, 18 runs and nine walks.

In 1885, Collins was sold to the Detroit Wolverines. His multi-hit debut with Detroit’s Major League team made big news, and Brian Henley found a story in the Detroit Free Press which reported the Dundas native scored the winning run in his first game with his new team. The Detroit newspaper reported Collins received “tremendous cheering” and that the fans “gave him the freedom of the city and he even owned annexed portions of the surrounding townships.”

Collins went on to play only 14 games in Detroit, adding 10 more hits, including two triples, and eight more runs to his career record.

Details of Collins’ baseball career were not as well recorded after his major league career. His stint south of the border may have been shortened by a need to return to Dundas and help manage the family hotel when his father was in poor health.

But he did return home in 1885 and played that season as team captain of the new Hamilton Clippers of the new professional baseball league in Canada. The Hamilton team went on to win the national championship with Collins leading the way.

Collins developed a reputation not only as a talented and fiery second basemen, but also as an honest player with integrity. In his letter supporting the nomination, Mr. Henley notes an instance when one of his own pitchers was suspected as succumbing to the lures of gamblers, Collins strode to the mound to berate his own teammate’s questionable pitching and eject him from the game.

In 1886, Collins was named manager of the Hamilton Clippers. The following season, he played baseball in Rochester.

Collins was a member of a Dundas amateur team that apparently won a national championship in 1890.

Information about Collins’ baseball career is not clear between 1891 and 1905. But historians do know that Collins helped operate his family’s hotel and bar in downtown Dundas, and he also served as a town councilor during this time. In 1901 and 1902 he was elected mayor of Dundas. During this time, he played a significant role in many local projects as the town developed – and was in a position to support and promote the sport of baseball locally. He was known to be an organizer of baseball teams and leagues, and served as an umpire.

In 1906, Collins managed a Galt baseball team – in the area now known as Cambridge. From 1907 to 1910, he managed Hamilton’s International League team.

Charles Collins died on May 20, 1914. He is buried in Dundas’ Grove Cemetery.

Though his baseball achievements went far beyond his two Major League seasons, Collins racked up a short career that surpassed all but a handful of the Canadian players that preceded him.

The Dundas native played 97 major league games. He fielded 559 total chances at second base and shortstop He had 71 hits and scored 50 runs. Collins hit nine doubles, three triples, drove in 26 runs and walked 23 times.

Three other Dundas baseball stars played in the Major Leagues around the same time as Collins, but none matched his career. James Pirie played five games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1883, Fred Wood played 12 games for Detroit and Buffalo, and Pete Wood played 28 games for Buffalo.

Unfortunately, there is no record of the thousands of games Collins played, and managed, for Canadian amateur and professional teams. His most significant baseball achievements have apparently been lost to history, summarized only in the few stories that have been passed down through the generations, or captured in news reports of the time.

Bill Humber, a Canadian baseball historian and author of several books including Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada, does not have any specific details of Collins’ career in his home country.

But Mr. Humber told the Dundas Star News an 1876 guide to baseball in Canada documents Dundas as a prominent baseball community. Collins was 19-years-old that year and likely playing shortstop in Dundas.

While the specifics are slim, history indicates Collins’ baseball career spanned more than 35 years.

“(Charles Collins) would be a worthy candidate for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame given the breadth of his career,” Mr. Humber told the Dundas Star News.

More information on the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum can be found at www.basballhalloffame.ca .