In the long-running sitcom that has been the sports scene in this country, Jack and Lynne Dominico have been recurring characters for almost four decades.

They have owned the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club of the Inter-country Major League for 37 years and have achieved the kind of success what would make the Argonauts, Blue Jays, Raptors and Leafs hockey club envious.

Under the Dominicos the baseball Leafs have captured seven championships and 18 regular-season pennants. “That’s almost a pennant for every second season we’ve been in business,” said Jack.

The wonderful husband and wife team were raised in different parts of the province. Lynne is originally from Wingham and Jack was born in North Bay. And although the Leafs baseball club plays its home games at Christie Pits in the west end of Toronto, the city of Etobicoke remains close to their hearts.

They met in Etobicoke when they were both working at the Etobicoke Guardian. Jack was in the advertising department and Lynne was selling classified ads. They went on to form a sports management duo that is unmatched.

The two have lived in the same Etobicoke house with four different dogs since 1971. Their current border-collie is Luca, who makes sure Jack stays away from raiding the refrigerator late at night.

Each Spring, the Dominicos celebrate the beginning of the baseball season with a sports event that is second-to-none. They attract some of the biggest names in baseball’s past for their annual forum that coincides with the Leafs opening day.

The personalities are like a Who’s Who of the diamond’s history. Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller, Bobby Thompson, Don Larsen, Bill Mazerowski, Curt Flood, Larry Dolby and Enos Slaughter are just a few of the 75 or so different baseball greats they have enticed to their opening day festivities.

Jack and Lynne are a pair of fixtures on the sports scene in this city and without the two of them, Etobicoke would be far less colourful.