The Brantford Red Sox are deeply saddened by the passing of Intercounty Baseball League great Wray Upper at the age of 87 on December 8, 2018. Upper played 21 seasons in the IBL with Galt and Brantford from 1954 to 1974 and was a former minor league pro in the New York Giants system.

Upper was a 13-time all-star third baseman, and won the IBL batting title in 1958 with a .413 average. He was a player-manager in Galt for nine seasons followed by two more seasons as manager of the Waterloo Tigers in the 1980’s after his playing career. 

In 2018 Upper was named to the IBL 100 list as one of the league's top players of all-time.  When the top-100 team was announced, former Red Sox great Ted Baker talked briefly about Upper.

“Wray, I played against in Galt,” Baker said in an Expositor story published on March 3.  “He was an excellent individual as well as a good ballplayer. What I did know of him, he was a very, very excellent human being. What you saw is what you got from Wray.”

A celebration of life will be held on Friday December 21 at Coutts Funeral Home (96 St. Andrews Street Cambridge ON) from 1 to 4 p.m. with a sharing of memories at 3 p.m. 

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/cambridge-on/wrayupper-8082075

With files from theibl.ca and the Brantford Expositor