On Sept. 24, longtime Thorold resident Frederick ‘Freddy’ Matheson passed away at age 57.
Matheson was an active volunteer in the local community and his absence is felt by many, especially in the Thorold Minor Baseball League.
“Fred was the president and driving force for Thorold Minor Baseball for well over 15 years,” says the league’s current president, Chris Green, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “He coached a number of teams to OBA and select championships.”
After handing over the presidency of the league to Green in 2018, Matheson still made time to show up on game days.
“You would find Fred at the park every weekend, watching the kids play ball, helping the coaches when they needed it,” Green says. “He was ‘Mr. Baseball’ in Thorold for so many years. He’s going to be sadly missed."
To remember Matheson, Thorold Minor Baseball has planned several tributes in the coming year.
“All of the jerseys this year for our players, they will have a patch on the sleeve for Fred,” says Green. “We’re creating the ‘Fred Matheson Play Ball’ subsidy where families that are in financial need, they can apply to receive funds to offset some of the costs for equipment or registration.”
With the subsidy, Thorold Minor Baseball hopes to keep Matheson's memory alive.
“One of Fred’s biggest passion pieces is that he wanted to have as many kids as possible playing baseball,” Green says. “We’re going to carry that along and honour his name to keep that going.”
Matheson was also active in other community organizations, including the volunteer firefighters.
Over at the Thorold Legion, his passing is also deeply felt.
“Freddy was an associate member at the legion,” the legion’s vice president, Glenn Kempson, tells ThoroldToday. “He has always been around when you needed something. The events we had, anything we had here, Freddy was there to help.”
To help Matheson's family pay for funeral arrangements, the Thorold Legion is holding a raffle for two Toronto Maple Leafs tickets, which were donated by Thorold resident J.J. Martin.
“J.J. knew Freddy really well so that’s what he wanted to do,” Kempson says.
Kempson is still reeling from the news of Matheson's passing.
“It shocked me,” he says. “You never expect it. It was very sudden for sure. I really miss him. A good friend, he was always there for you.”
Talking to the people who loved him, it's easy to understand why Matheson was so respected.
“All Freddy cared about was other people,” Kempson says. “If something needed to be done he made sure to talk to a councillor, he’d talk to the Mayor. He was behind the wheelchair swing in the park. He was one of the people pushing for that.”
"He loved Thorold," adds Green. "You could see that in everything he did.”
