Our History
Established in 1961...
Baseball was being played in the St.Catharines (and Niagara) area before 1961, and the following is some history we managed to find via an article in the St.Catharines Museum, which was written by the late Jack Gatecliff (St.Catharines Standard Sports Editor) in 1962.
Key points from the article...
Eastend Midgets:
- Won Niagara District Championships in 1945-46-47 under Bill Yielding.
- Won Niagara District Championship in 1952 under Len Wismer, and Pierce Watson. Chester Warchol was a pitcher on this team.
Thompson Products Juveniles:
- Won Niagara District Championship in 1947. Some players on the team were: Bill Allan (pitcher), Stan Stocker (pitcher), Bill Popolillo, Francis McDonald, John Yielding.
- Won again in 1948, this time under Bill Yielding. Some players on that team were: Henry Sokolowski, Ed Plata, Ed Cadot, Henry Sort, Frank Martin, and Skip Teal.
Rather than having various groups pulling in opposite directions, there were a few individuals that decided to form a St.Catharines Minor Baseball Association, which according to Jack Gatecliff, was long overdue! These "Founding Fathers" of St.Catharines Minor Baseball included:
- Bob Gatenby
- Dominic Senese
- Herb Rogers
- Jack Lennard
- Bill Martin
- Clair Newhouse
- Hope Nicholson
- Bill Yielding
- Ozzie Hill
- Fred Hinks
In their first full year of existence in 1962 (SCMBA was officially created during 1961), SCMBA fielded 3 teams... one in Juvenile, and two in Midget. That year, they won the Niagara District Championships for Juvenile, and in Midget (with their "A" team). SCMBA looked to expand into Junior in 1963 (or at the latest, 1964). Thus, SCMBA initially was focused on the older divisions of play, while local Legion Baseball groups focused on the younger age groups.
Fast forward to today.... SCMBA has expanded their divisions to incorporate those as young as 4 (Blast Ball), up to 18 (Midget). Unfortunately, we currently do not offer divisions older than Midget, but we are always looking to expand whenever there is opportunity to do so. We currently offer various levels of play, including House League, Select, and Rep. We are continually looking to bring a fun, family-focused baseball experience to more and more families.
We look forward to seeing you at the ball field!!
We are still looking for information to further complete Our History, and provide more insight as to the Legion programs during this time, when SCMBA started to expand down into these younger divisions, as well as additional information on the baseball programs existing in the area prior to 1945. If you have any information, or know where we can find some, please contact us at info@stcatharinesbaseball.ca!!
A Proud History of Success!!
(We are currently in the process of updating our history. If you can help us recognize teams from our past please reach out to us at info@stcatharinesbaseball.ca)
Provincial Championships:
- 2013 REP -- 10u "AA" Champions
- 2012 REP -- 9u "AA" Champions
- 2006 REP -- Junior (21u) "B" Champions
- 2004 REP -- Junior (21u) "C" Champions
- 1999 REP -- Bantam (15u) "AA" Champions
- 1998 REP -- Junior (21u) "B" Champions
Niagara District:
- 2019 REP -- 11u - Finalists
- 2019 REP -- 13u - Champions
- 1962 REP -- SCMBA Midget Saints ("A" Team) - Champions
- 1962 REP -- SCMBA Juvenile - Champions
- 1952 REP -- Eastend Midgets - Champions
- 1948 REP -- Thompson Products Juveniles - Champions
- 1947 REP -- Eastend Midgets - Champions
- 1947 REP -- Thomspon Products Juveniles - Champions
- 1946 REP -- Eastend Midgets - Champions
- 1945 REP -- Eastend Midgets - Champions
Tournaments:
- more to come...
