Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins[a] CM (born December 13, 1942)[1] is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and coach.

He played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.

[3] Jenkins became the first Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991; he remained the only one until Larry Walker's election in 2020.

[4] Jenkins was born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, the only child of Delores Jackson and Ferguson Jenkins Sr.[3][5] His father, a chef and chauffeur,[6] was the son of immigrants from Barbados, while his mother was a descendant of captive Africans enslaved in America, who escaped through the Underground Railroad before settling in Southwestern Ontario.

[3][5] Both of his parents were good athletes; his father was an amateur boxer and semi-professional baseball player for the Chatham Coloured All-Stars.

[5] A talented athlete, Jenkins competed in track and field, ice hockey, and basketball in his school years, lettering five times.

[3] He was also encouraged to continue working on his pitching by Gene Dziadura, a former shortstop in the Chicago Cubs minor league system, and a Philadelphia Phillies scout.

He was traded the following year to the Chicago Cubs, along with Adolfo Phillips and John Herrnstein, for pitchers Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl.

He finished tied for second in the Cy Young Award voting, following Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants.

Jenkins pitched the complete game for the Cubs, and Billy Williams hit a home run in the final inning for the victory.

[8] On September 1, 1971, Jenkins threw another complete game against the Montreal Expos and hit two home runs.

That season, Jenkins threw a complete game in 30 of 39 starts and received a decision in 37 of them, finishing with a 24–13 record (.649).

Jenkins was traded from the Cubs to the Texas Rangers for Bill Madlock and Vic Harris on October 25, 1973.

[12] Texas manager Billy Martin was pleased with the trade, describing Jenkins as a workhorse and a winner.

[13] In 1974, Jenkins achieved a personal best 25 wins during the season, setting a Rangers franchise record which still stands.

Jenkins, fellow Cub Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, and Pedro Martínez are the only major league pitchers to ever record more than 3,000 strikeouts with fewer than 1,000 walks.

[18] In 1974, Jenkins, then with the Texas Rangers, became the first baseball player to win the Lou Marsh Trophy, an award given annually to Canada's top athlete.

[24] Governor General Michaëlle Jean officiated at his investiture into the Order, which finally occurred on May 4, 2007, more than 27 years after he was appointed.