Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Paul Hodgson has a few causes to rejoice Household Day — and Black Historical past Month, for that matter.
Hodgson grew up within the Sixties in Fredericton, the place solely a handful of Black households lived.
He made it onto the Jays in September 1980, solely the second Canadian to play for the crew.
That was round when his adoptive father took him apart, letting him in on a household secret.
“He says, ‘Your mom does not know I am doing this, however I really feel that I’ve to inform you. You are getting married and there is a likelihood you might have a Black youngster.’ I did not know I used to be Black, I did not know I used to be something.”
Residing within the small city of Marysville, later a part of Fredericton, Hodgson had all the time identified he was adopted however hadn’t requested many questions.
He had a darker complexion, and he’d get taunted.
“There have been a bunch of children in elementary faculty who had been all the time calling me (the N-word). I believed they had been simply silly, as a result of I had a darker pores and skin. My dad used to say to me that I had a darkish complexion.”
So far as he and nearly everybody else thought, he was white.
“I grew up watching sports activities on TV, and watching Black gamers, I all the time thought, ‘Wow, it might be cool to develop up with these genes.'”
Hodgson was signed by the Blue Jays in 1977, at 17.
The following three years within the minors, he’d meet and befriend Black and Latino gamers, together with future Jays stars Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield.
“I all the time obtained alongside superb with them, I did not have an issue. Did I look Black? I dunno, possibly, some. [Former Jay] Boomer Wells mentioned he wasn’t positive what I used to be, he simply knew I wasn’t a pure white man.
“Jesse, Lloyd, it did not matter to these guys, they did not care what you had been.”
Hodgson obtained his shot on the huge leagues in 1980, proving himself defensively within the outfield, hitting a house run off all-star Dennis Martinez and a clutch three-run triple in one other recreation.
The 1981 season noticed him tear his rotator cuff, and regardless of surgical procedure, he could not achieve sufficient power again in that shoulder to make it again to the massive leagues.
He was out of baseball by 1985.
On the similar time, he was coming to grips with the household secret.
“It was good to lastly know why I used to be a bit completely different. I assume I used to be like these guys I watched on TV. I had a few of these genes in me. I used to be glad my [adopted) father told me.”
Still, it wasn’t openly discussed, because nobody wanted to upset the complicated family dynamics.
His birth mother’s name was Elaine, and she lived nearby in Marysville, a woman Hodgson had thought was a cousin.
It all started in 1959 in Montreal, where Elaine lived.
She had been dating a U.S. Air Force member from the nearby base in Plattsburgh, N.Y., for a couple of years. Then she got pregnant.
“Her father was not happy, and he even went as far as to drive to Plattsburg to tell the highest-ranking officer he could find that he didn’t want my birth father to see Elaine again, and if he did, big trouble.
“One of the sergeants grabbed him and said, ‘You could lose your career, pension, everything.’ This was 1959, and he was a Black man. Very different times.”
Elaine asked her beloved uncle and aunt in Marysville to adopt the baby.
Soon she moved there too, married and had a family.
All stayed quiet until 2017, at a family reunion.
“The day of the big gathering, my uncle emailed the group with a family genealogy,” Hodgson said.
In the email, Elaine’s children were listed as his sisters.
“Chaos and hilarity ensued,” Hodgson says.
With everything out in the open, he talked to Elaine about it for the first time and got the whole story.
His birth father was Jerry Arceneaux, from Lake Charles, La.
Encouraged by his partner, Lisa, they were able to track down one of Jerry’s daughters.
She put Hodgson in touch with his father, now living in Georgia and retired from a distinguished military and human resources career.
Hodgson and Lisa went to Georgia, meeting two of Paul’s new sisters, and his birth father for the first time.
He found out where he got his athletic genes from.
“He’s six foot seven, a Black Belt in several styles, and played on the all-world basketball team for the U.S. Air Force. He is a very calming influence, a very intelligent man.”
Paul also has two new brothers elsewhere in the U.S., and he’s been welcomed into the family without reservation. Through texts and social media, Paul’s father, siblings, nephews, nieces, and new friends all stay close and connected.
He’s just as close with his birth mom Elaine, and his sisters and family in Fredericton.
“It’s as good as it could be,” Hodgson said. “I’m so happy that that all happened. It’s frustrating that it didn’t happen earlier, because it would have been super nice to have those people in my life. Just the perspective of being part of a southern Black family — they’re all good people, they’re all smart people.”
Paul’s birth parents, Elaine and Jerry, have even been able to speak, too, for the first time since 1959.
After baseball, Paul returned to Fredericton for a few years, including a stint as a sports announcer and reporter for CBC TV. He now lives in Toronto, working for the Ontario government.
Fredericton has changed a lot since the ’60s.
It’s multicultural, as a large influx of immigrants and foreign students has changed the face of the city.
It’s well-known as the birthplace of Willie O’Ree, the first Black NHL player.
Now the city has another Black sports star to celebrate.
“I don’t think most people in Fredericton even know,” Hodgson said.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
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