Make way for Matt Stairs Way
Published Thursday October 22nd, 2009
The City of Fredericton will name a Marysville street in honour of a New Brunswick baseball icon.
Matt Stairs Way will be located at the end of Morrison Street on a roadway that leads to Royals Field Park, known to locals as Baseball Hill.
The city's planning advisory committee Wednesday night approved the naming of the roadway to honour the valuable pinch hitter who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies, the defending world champion.
City hall is working on details of a recognition and naming ceremony to be scheduled later this fall when Stairs' schedule permits him to visit the capital city.
Stairs was born in Saint John but grew up in the Fredericton area where he attended Fredericton High School. He played for the FHS Black Kats.
In baseball, Stairs played two seasons with the Marysville Royals of the provincial senior league and was named league MVP in 1985.
Upon graduating from Fredericton High School, he decided to focus entirely on baseball, attending the National Baseball Institute in Vancouver for a year.
From there, he joined Canada's national junior team and in 1987 he was named an all-star at the World Amateur Baseball Championships held in Italy.
The next season, he joined Canada's national team and played in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
He began his professional career in baseball with the Montreal Expos organization in 1992. He spent two years in Montreal before joining the Boston Red Sox in 1995.
He played for several teams over the years and in 2007 he signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
He was acquired by the Phillies from the Jays at the midway point in 2008.
He played a significant bench role with the Phillies, hitting a game-winning homerun against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the way to winning the NL pennant and ultimately the World Series.
He's still with the Phillies as it looks to defend its title.
Stairs makes his off-season home in Bangor, Maine, with his wife Lisa and three daughters.
As time permits, he helps coach the hockey team at John Bapst Memorial High School, a private school in the Bangor area.
With files from sports editor David Ritchie
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Congratulations to Matt and his family and kudos to the Fredericton City Planning Advisory Committee for recognizing the accomplishments of one of our own.