Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 1931 |
No. of teams | 12 |
Country | Canada |
Headquarters | Lethbridge, Alberta |
Most recent champion(s) | Okotoks Dawgs |
Most titles | Okotoks Dawgs (8 titles) |
Official website | westerncanadianbaseballleague |
The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league. The league is home to teams based in the Canadian Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and has roots dating back to 1931 in Saskatchewan's Southern Baseball League. In 1975, the province's southern and northern leagues merged, creating the foundation for the WCBL. Today, the league boasts seven teams in Alberta and five in Saskatchewan.
The league can trace its roots back to 1931, via its predecessors, the Southern Baseball League (1931 to 1974) and the Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League (1959 to 1974). The Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL) was formed in 1975 through a merger of the Southern and Northern leagues. Three teams from each former league entered the new loop—the Eston Ramblers, Saskatoon Royals, and Unity Cardinals from the north, and the Moose Jaw Devons, Regina Red Sox, and Swift Current Indians from the south. [1] [2]
The league was renamed the Western Major Baseball League in 2000 to reflect teams based in Alberta, along with the possibility of future expansion to British Columbia. In June 2018, it was announced that the league would be renamed the Western Canadian Baseball League. [3]
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and logistics, the 2021 season was played with only five Alberta-based teams and Canadian players only. [4] [5]
As of 2024 [update] , WCBL membership consists of 12 teams in two divisions. The West Division is made up of six Albertan teams, while the East Division is made up of all five teams from Saskatchewan, plus the easternmost Albertan team from Medicine Hat. The top four teams in each division qualify for the post-season.
Division | Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Seating capacity | 2024 record | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
West | Brooks Bombers | Brooks, Alberta | Elks Stadium | 2015 | 681 | 20–36 | 4th |
Edmonton Prospects | Sherwood Park, Alberta | Centennial Field | 2005 | 12-44 | 6th | ||
Fort McMurray Giants | Fort McMurray, Alberta | Legacy Dodge Field | 2016 | 1,725 | 20–36 | 5th | |
Lethbridge Bulls | Lethbridge, Alberta | Spitz Stadium | 1999 | 3,000 | 36-20 | 3rd | |
Okotoks Dawgs | Okotoks, Alberta | Seaman Stadium | 2003 | 2,500 | 42-14 | 2nd | |
Sylvan Lake Gulls | Sylvan Lake, Alberta | Pogadl Park | 2021 | 1,384 | 44-12 | 1st | |
East | Medicine Hat Mavericks | Medicine Hat, Alberta | Athletic Park | 2003 | 2,200 | 33-23 | 2nd |
Moose Jaw Miller Express | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan | Ross Wells Ball Park | 2002 | 750 | 26-30 | 4th | |
Regina Red Sox | Regina, Saskatchewan | Currie Field | 1946 | 2,000 | 38-18 | 1st | |
Saskatoon Berries | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Cairns Field | 2023 | 2,200 | 31–25 | 3rd | |
Swift Current 57's | Swift Current, Saskatchewan | Mitchell Field | 1959 | 550 | 16-40 | 6th | |
Weyburn Beavers | Weyburn, Saskatchewan | Pogadl Park | — | 600 | 17-39 | 5th |
Team | City | Final year |
---|---|---|
Eston Ramblers | Eston, Saskatchewan | 1993 |
Hazlet Elks | Hazlet, Saskatchewan | 1993 |
Kindersley Royals | Kindersley, Saskatchewan | |
Melville Millionaires | Melville, Saskatchewan | 2021 |
Moose Jaw Devons | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan | |
Oyen Pronghorns | Oyen, Alberta | |
Red Deer Generals | Red Deer, Alberta | 2005 |
Saskatoon Liners | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | 1984 |
Saskatoon Nationals | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | |
Saskatoon Yellow Jackets | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | 2014 |
Sherwood Park Dukes | Sherwood Park, Alberta | 2008 |
Unity Cardinals | Unity, Saskatchewan | |
Yorkton Cardinals | Yorkton, Saskatchewan | 2021 |
Cranbrook, British Columbia, was granted an expansion team, the Eds, in 2011 conditional on building a new stadium. [6] [7] However, the plans failed to come to fruition.
In May 2020, the Edmonton Prospects confirmed that the team would be leaving Edmonton for Spruce Grove by 2022, [8] but due to construction delays at Myshak Metro Ballpark, those plans have been pushed back. [9] [10]
The two most recent additions to the league are in Sylvan Lake and Saskatoon. Plans for a 2021 launch of the Sylvan Lake team were announced November 1, 2019. [11] Branding as the Sylvan Lake Gulls was announced in March 2020. [12] Saskatoon was awarded the most recent expansion team, in 2023. [13] In July 2023, the team unveiled that it would be called the Saskatoon Berries. [14]
Saskatchewan Territorial (1895–1905) and Provincial (1906–present) champions have been decided by an annual tournament. [2] In 1967 the first major division was added to the tournament, [15] and the award was named in memory of Harry Hallis. From 1967 until 1974 the name of this provincial champion was added to the trophy. In 1975, when the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League was formed, this trophy continued to be awarded to the SMBL champions, and now the WCBL champions.
Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) Champions: (Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy)
Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) Champions: (Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy)
Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL) Champions:
Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League Champions:
The Southern Baseball League (SBL) Champions: (J.T.M. Anderson Trophy)
Team | Wins | Seasons |
---|---|---|
Okotoks Dawgs | 8 | 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
Swift Current 57's | 6 | 2001, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2016, 2017 |
Medicine Hat Mavericks | 3 | 2003, 2014, 2018 |
Lethbridge Bulls | 2 | 2015, 2021 |
Regina Red Sox | 2 | 2011, 2012 |
Moose Jaw Miller Express | 1 | 2002 |
Melville Millionaires | 1 | 2013 |
The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba–Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, and they play home games at the Whitney Forum on the Manitoba side of the city. The team's history dates back to 1927 and includes a decade-long run in the major junior Western Hockey League in the late 1960s and 1970s. The team has won two national championships, including the 1957 Memorial Cup and the 1969 James Piggott National Championship.
Rosetown—Biggar was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1968.
The Estevan Bruins are a junior ice hockey team playing in the Junior "A" Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The team is based in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, and plays at Affinity Place. They were founded in 1971, when a previous franchise called the Estevan Bruins, which played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League from 1957 to 1966 and then the Major Junior Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1966 to 1971, relocated to New Westminster, British Columbia; that franchise is today known as the Kamloops Blazers.
Hazlet is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Pittville No. 169 and Census Division No. 8. The village is located northwest of the city of Swift Current near the Great Sand Hills.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
The Humboldt Broncos are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team from Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Established in 1970, the Broncos play in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Broncos have won the SJHL ten times while winning the ANAVET Cup seven times to advance to the Centennial Cup, which they have won on two occasions in 2003 and 2008.
This is a timeline of events throughout the history of the Western Hockey League (WHL), which dates back to its founding in 1966. The league was founded by a group of team owners and managers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including Bill Hunter, Scotty Munro, Del Wilson, and Jim Piggott, who thought a larger western league would help western teams compete for the Memorial Cup against teams from the larger associations in Ontario and Quebec. Since the league's founding, it has expanded to include 22 teams across the four Western Canadian provinces along with the Northwest United States, and it has produced 19 Memorial Cup championship teams.
The Weyburn Red Wings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Crescent Point Place, which has a seating capacity of 1,750. The team colours are red and white. Radio station CHWY-FM K106 broadcasts all Red Wings road games, and select home games. All home games are webcast on HockeyTV.
The Kindersley Klippers are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Melville Millionaires are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey based in Melville, Saskatchewan. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games in the CN Community Centre which has a seating capacity of 2,100. The Melville Millionaires and the Yorkton Terriers are archrivals. The team colours are blue and white. Games are broadcast on radio station CJGX AM 940. The Millionaires also fielded a senior hockey team in the 1910s, which won the 1915 Allan Cup.
The Athol Murray Trophy is a Canadian ice hockey series to determine the Saskatchewan Junior B championship and seed of the Keystone Cup - the Western Canada Junior "B" Hockey Crown.
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan held municipal elections on October 25, 2006.
Culture of Saskatchewan views the patterns of human activity in the central prairie province of Canada examining the way people live in the geography, climate, and social context of Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA) is the governing body for soccer (Association Football) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The association was formed in 1905.
Sports in Saskatchewan consist of a wide variety of team and individual games, and include summer, winter, indoor, and outdoor games. Saskatchewan's cold winter climate has ensured the popularity of sports including its official sport, curling, as well as ice hockey, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. The province also has warm summers and popular summer sports include baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and field, rodeo, horse-racing, and golf.
The Saskatchewan Silver Sox are an independent professional baseball team based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They play in the developmental Arizona Winter League, a short-season instructional winter league affiliated with the North American League and compete in the International Division, as well as the Calexico Outlaws, San Diego Surf Dawgs, San Luis Atleticos and Team Canada. They began playing their home games in 2009 at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma. They are owned by Diamond Sports & Entertainment.
The Saskatchewan Summer Games and Saskatchewan Winter Games are multi-sport events held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The governing body for the Saskatchewan Games is the Saskatchewan Games Council, a non-profit organization who has held responsibility for organizing the Games since 2006.
The Saskatoon Berries are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 2023, the team began play in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) in 2024. The Berries host games at Cairns Field.