Ball park sign back thanks to family of original maker

The brazen theft of the sign displaying the namesake of Labatt Park was never solved, but a solution has been found thanks to a family that has close ties to the original sign maker.

Labatt Brewery offered a $2,000 reward in the fall of 2024 to anyone who helped bring the sign back or provided information that led to its return. When that didn't happen, Chris Carr stepped in.

Carr is the son of the man who made the original sign decades ago, and he agreed to replace it in time for baseball season this spring. 

"We got in contact with him when the original sign went missing, and he jumped into action. He was keen to help us replace the sign and make sure that Labatt Park lives on as close to the original," Labatt spokesperson Veronica Bart  said. 

Labatt Park has been a London landmark at 25 Wilson Avenue since 1877. Originally called Tecumseh Park, it holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest baseball diamond in the world. Labatt has been brewing in the city for 175 years. 

When the sign was stolen last November, police said it had been bolted to the wrought iron fence.