Fourty years ago, as part of Canada's Centennial, were staged the 2nd North American Championships followed by the Canadian Championships, at the C.N.E. in Toronto.
Carl Steinfeldt (Rochester, N.Y.) defeated Dean McLaughlin in a playoff to win the North American title described as the "most successful event ever staged in Canada".
Never before had we seen such a talented group of pitchers in Canada.
But Dean (who had won the 1960 North American title defeating Paul Focht and Elmer Hohl in a playoff) was the sensation
of the 1967 tournament averaging 84.5% overall, his best performance ever. He defeated the 3 former World Champions entered: Harold Reno, Elmer Hohl and current
champion Dan Kuchcinski whom Dean beat decisively with a game over 92%. Dean recalls losing the last round game to a New York pitcher (Natale?),
creating the playoff situation. see the complete results of the 1967 North American Championships and 1967 Canadian Championships won by Dean McLaughlin.
Notice the raised courts with woodened pitching platforms. Those same courts were used many years at the Canadian Championships (1950s and 1960s). We can see by the picture how high they were.
Dean mentioned how exhausted he was at the end of this marathon tournament, stepping up and down the raised platforms.
see the previous picture of the month.
