Sport: Minor Baseball
Position: Executive Member, Coach
Year of Induction: 2013
Sport: Minor Baseball
Position: Executive Member, Coach
Year of Induction: 2013
Chirp was born in 1933 in Wales, Great Britain and immigrated to Canada with his family after the Second World War. He attended Chatham Collegiate and after graduation started working at International Truck Works. In his youth he played soccer and knew nothing about baseball, but quickly became an ardent student of the game, as a coach and manager. He credited John Best and Bruno Casanova as his mentors in his study of the game and in the importance of developing fully rounded young athletes. Chirp spent 27 years of his life as a coach or manager of Chatham ball teams. Over the years, he passed his knowledge and passion for the game on to players of all ages, ranging from tyke baseball to men’s slo-pitch.
During his time with CMBA, Chirp was on the executive for a number of years, serving in several different positions including president in 1968 when Chatham hosted the OBA Convention and again in 1972 and 1973. As President, in 1973, he represented the City of Chatham and CMBA when the Pee Wee Team went to North Battleford, Saskatchewan and won the Canadian Championship.
In 1966, because of his contributions to the Kinsmen Pee Wee baseball program, Chirp was made a lifetime member of the Chatham Kinsmen Club. Chirp died in Chatham in 2012.