History of the Equadorian League of Amateur Soccer (LEFA)

The flow of Latin Americans to Canada began in 1968. For those of us who arrived here hoping to build a better future, Canada was a country of promise and aspiration. Upon arrival, however, we faced a number of problems: the unknown language, the inhospitable climate, the fact that we were immigrants and a series of difficulties related directly to a new way of life that differed greatly from the one we had left behind in Latin America. These problems created an atmosphere of discontent, uncertainty and fear among us. Inspired by the fragrance of spring, a group of us from Toronto got together in 1970 at Christie Park and formed a soccer team. We named the team Sporting Christie because the majority of its members lived in the neighbourhood. full article

Baseball and Ethnic Violence in Toronto: The Case of the Christie Pits Riot, August 16, 1933

During the depression, the City of Toronto made a concerted effort to keep many of its young men out of trouble by providing them with a program of organised sports at a number of parks and playgrounds.1 The most popular of the sports activities was baseball, and amateur teams were followed by their fans with a degree of enthusiasm nearly equal to that shown for the major leagues. On most evenings during the summer months amateur hardball and softball games provided free and exciting entertainment for many who could not afford more expensive forms of leisurely diversion. At one of these games, played in Willowvale Park (popularly referred to as Christie Pits), one of the most serious ethnic disturbances in Toronto's history took place. full article

Sports and Inter-Ethnic Relations at Camp Petawawa

Between June 1940 and the autumn of 1943, no less than 400 Italian-Canadian civilians were interned at Camp Petawawa, Ontario. These internees comprised the largest contingent of "enemy aliens" in the camp.1 Although they were generally well treated - the camp did not lack for basic amenities - these men suffered from a variety of physical and psychological deprivations. The loss of freedom, the confusion attending their arrest, the uncertainty regarding the length of their confinement and the sudden removal from their families and place of business, created a sense of bitterness and frustration among them. full article

The Chatham All-Stars - An Interview

INTERVIEWER: It's August 6, 1984. We are attempting our first interview with King Terrell, who was one of the original All-Stars. The All-Stars were a coloured baseball team who played in the depression years and who made history, who had a lot of fun together, a lot of trouble together too. And King, I'd like to ask you today how did the All-Stars really get started? KINGSLEY TERRELL: Well from what I can remember, it was in 1933. And a bunch of us got together. Well there was different ones, we was playing Carl, and, let me see, somebody else that I knew real well played on the old Sterling Imperials. full article