Jim Fanning
Jim Fanning dies in Canada at age 87.
The man whom Hartley's city ball diamonds are named has died in Canada at the age of 87. Jim Fanning, a longtime baseball executive with the former Montreal Expos team in Canada, was a resident of London, Ontario. He became a Canadian citizen in 2012. In 1971, a group of admirers for the Spencer, Hartley, Everly and Moneta held "Jim Fanning Day" in Hartley. An archway was built at the Hartley baseball diamond, proclaiming "James Fanning Field".
A story in the Sentinel News at the time of Fanning's induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 highlighted his baseball career. William (James) Fanning was born in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1927. At one year of age he moved to Moneta with his parents and finished high school there. At a young age, his aunt gave him a catcher's mitt, and his baseball career started. He was selected to the all-Tournament Team in Iowa in 1943, leading Moneta to a runner-up finish in the State Tournament as a sophomore.
He played with the Spencer Cardinals in 1949 and 1950, and signed with the Chicago Cubs organization in 1951. He played with several farm teams of the Cubs, being called up to the majors in 1955. He played with the Cubs in 1956 and 1957, hitting .170 with five runs batted in while playing in 64 games. Fanning then became a free-lance field manager for a few years for Triple A farm teams before going with the Milwaukee Brewers as a scout. He became assistant general manager when the Braves franchise moved to Atlanta.
In 1967, Fanning and John McHale started the Montreal Expos and and he spent most of the rest of his career with the expos. (The franchise moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005 and became the Nationals.) Fanning was the general manager when the team entered the major leagues in 1968, and was the field manager when the expos claimed their only playoff appearance in Canada in 1981. He was 116-103as a manager in 1981-1982 and 1984. For the last few years of his baseball career, Fanning scouted for the Colorado Rockies and served as a goodwill ambassador for the Toronto Blue Jays.
From Hartley Everly Royal Sentinel News April 30, 2015
He was survived by his wife, Maria and two children, Cynthia and Frank.
