55:. Two 15-year-old members of the Elizabeth Playground bantam baseball team were killed in the accident, including team captain Benjamin "Benny" Wetstein and the short stop, Nathan Rubinoff. Abate initially said he was driving but later said that one of the boys killed in the crash, Rubinoff, had been behind the wheel. In November, Abate was found guilty of negligence in a fatal accident and was given a $ 1,000 fine and lost his driver's license for six months. In December, a civil suit by the Wetnstein and Rubinoff's parents resulted in the Parks Commission forbidding teams playing under its name from travelling outside the city to play games as result of the deadly collision near Bowmanville in September.
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In 1963, in article in the
Toronto Star, Abate stated that his coaching style was not a "win-at-any-cost attitude," but said, "I liked my guys to play as hard as they could, battle every inch of the way. If they won, so much the better. But I expect them to forget the game once the final out was made
24:(25 November 1893 – 22 January 1981) was a Canadian sports coach and the driving force behind the Elizabeth Playground sports teams in Toronto. The "Lizzies", as they were known, won more than 200 titles at the city, provincial, and national levels in baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.
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When he started working at the
Elizabeth Playground, the area was mainly Jewish immigrant families, and other nationalities and races. Abate saw sports as way to bring all the kids from all over the world together, as he said:
83:, in November 1963, his former players and opponents paid tribute to him at a special diner on 2 May 1963. Organized by former Lizzie's member Harry Sniderman, Abate was lauded by 400 people at the
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Ours was a melting pot of nations. If a lad couldn't get along with his teammates, we soon eased him out. The person, not his nationality, religion or colour, was the important thing.
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Abate married late in life, to
Patricia Abate, and had a daughter Anne. While he was alive he had one grandchild, Adele Newton. He died in
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in 1976. In 1990, the
Elizabeth Recreation Centre in Toronto was renamed the Bob Abate Community Recreation Centre.
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99:. He received a going away present of $ 2,000 (about $ 20,500 in 2024 dollars) from the fundraising diner.
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On 7 September 1929, Abate was driving six members of the boys bantam baseball team to a playoff game in
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when he crossed the highway's median and collided head-on with another car near
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Before Abate retired as a supervisor for the City of
Toronto's
377:"Ex-Lizzies Players Honor Former Coach At Testimonial Dinner"
412:"400 On Hand To Honor Abate And $ 3,000 Shows Their Esteem"
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214:"Double tragedy overtakes over ball team on way to game"
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Among the players who competed for the
Lizzies were
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87:, including speeches from then current
460:Gridiron football people from Ontario
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300:Standard Staff (11 December 1929).
240:Star Reporter (17 September 1929).
269:Express Staff (21 November 1929).
151:from the original on 31 March 2023
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211:Star Staff (9 September 1929).
81:Parks and Recreation department
465:Ice hockey people from Ontario
450:Basketball people from Ontario
342:Burnett, Red (26 April 1963).
173:Star Staff (24 January 1981).
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64:or the final whistle blown."
43:1929 Fatal car crash incident
16:Canadian amateur sports coach
445:Baseball people from Ontario
145:Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
104:Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
427:– via Newspapers.com.
409:Burnett, Red (3 May 1963).
360:– via Newspapers.com.
345:"Testimonial for Bob Abate"
328:– via Newspapers.com.
289:– via Newspapers.com.
258:– via Newspapers.com.
229:– via Newspapers.com.
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374:Cauz, Louis (3 May 1963).
176:"Bob Abate guided Lizzies"
141:"Hall of Famer Bob Abate"
102:Abate was inducted into
455:Canadian sports coaches
278:Buffalo Courier-Express
110:Personal life and death
95:and then Toronto mayor
386:. Toronto. p. 44
303:"Not good for a city"
49:Peterborough, Ontario
53:Bowmanville, Ontario
118:in 1981 at age 87.
59:Coaching philosophy
417:Toronto Daily Star
383:The Globe and Mail
350:Toronto Daily Star
248:Toronto Daily Star
219:Toronto Daily Star
116:Kitchener, Ontario
97:Donald Summerville
22:Robert "Bob" Abate
147:. Calgary. 2024.
85:King Edward Hotel
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309:The Standard
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182:Toronto Star
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475:1981 deaths
470:1893 births
281:. p. 5
250:. p. 5
75:Recognition
33:Goody Rosen
439:Categories
122:References
91:chairman
423:19 April
396:ProQuest
390:19 April
356:19 April
324:19 April
285:19 April
254:19 April
225:19 April
189:19 April
155:19 April
149:Archived
318:Ontario
425:2024
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35:and
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