Douglas Graham

Biography:

Doug grew up in Lakefield, and after starting his career in 1973 with the Peterborough Examiner, he came to Kingston in 1975 to join the staff at the Kingston Whig Standard as a sportswriter. In his more than forty three years with the Whig, Doug has covered many national events, most notably the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, two Vanier Cup wins for Queen’s, the Major League Baseball All – Star games in Montreal in 1982 and Toronto in 1991, several World and North American Sailing Championships and over 30 years of CORK sailing, six National Pro Bass Championships on Kingston waters, as well as several Ontario Amateur Golf Championships and Pro Tour stops on area courses.

Doug has been a beat writer for over 30 years covering the Kingston OHL team, and written about hundreds of Kingston Area High School Championships, and with curling, reported on both the Scotties and the Brier events held here. But it was his passion for local sports that lead him to make a significant and lasting impact on the greater Kingston community.

Doug was instrumental in bringing high school baseball back to Kingston by establishing the KASSAA Baseball League in 2004. What started as a four team experiment grew into a ten team loop to become a strong league, with regular representation on the EOSSAA and OFSSAA provincial stages. Doug coached La Salle Secondary School to its only league championship in 2009.

His love of baseball led him to coach in the Kingston Baseball Association and rep teams. Doug was General Manager for the Kingston Ponies and played a key role in getting the Ponies back playing in the Ontario Senior Baseball eliminations. He also served on the executive boards for both the Ponies and the Kingston Baseball Association.

Curling was another of Doug’s loves, and he is a lifetime member of the Royal Kingston Curling Club, serving on the club executive for 20 years and as Club President in 1995. He was influential in initiating the “Little Rocks” Learn to Curl program at the RKCC, and was a co-founder of Major League Curling in the area that ran for more than 20 years, giving competitive men’s and women’s teams a venue for further development.

Committed to local sports in his professional life, Doug carried that on to his enthusiasm for community baseball as well. KASSAA Baseball can trace their roots back to a modest proposal and hands on work by Doug. Thanks to him and others who shared in his passion, kids can now play local baseball longer. That is a legacy to be proud of.