Chuck Connors, Montrealer and his Westmount wife Betty Riddell

   The square-jawed lad lived in Montreal in the late 40s. And why did he become quite famous for something other than the activity suggested by his uniform here?
   It is indeed 6'5" Chuck Connors, who went on to become a TV cowboy in The Rifleman. He played for the Montreal Royals which lated here from 1897 to 1960, and was a power hitter during their glory years of 1945-55 when they came in first or second pretty much every year. He ended up playing half a season with the Cubs after playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers' Montreal minor league affiliate.

Riddell in 1962

   He came to Montreal in 1948, having played for another team named the Royals the year previously, that being the Rochester Royals basketball team.
   He apparently liked to ham it up on the bench and appeared on a regular TV show, presumably here, explaining baseball rules and strategy.
   Connors married Westmount model and bank manager's daughter Elizabeth Jane Riddell, aka Betty Riddell of 513 Claremont Oct. 1, 1948.
   She mothered his four sons.
   They divorced in 1961 after 13 years together.  Connors told a court that Chuck lost interest in her and his family after he became a success in TV.
   He got his acting break after developing a following while playing for minor league Los Angeles after having a cup of coffee with the Cubs. He did a pretty good recitation of Casey at the Bat and was given a small part in a movie in 1952 and by the next year had a supporting role in a Burt Lancaster movie.