“The IBL, which has been in operation since 1919, is pleased to announce that it is now a fully professional league that will hereafter be known as the Canadian Baseball League.”
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Great.. we have domestic pro basketball, football, soccer and now baseball.
No need to cheer for the Blue Jays in their American League anymore. Elbows Up 
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Good to see. First full pro league here since the ill-fated one in 2003 that didn’t make it out of it first season.
At least this one remains in an Southern Ontario footprint for now and hopefully expansion will be in cities in driving distance. No coast to coast operation for a long time.
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I had never heard of this Ontario league. I guess it is unique because it is all Canadian.
There is another independent league, perhaps the most successful independent league of all, known as the American Association. The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a member since 2012, after having previously played in the Northern League since 1994. The AA was originally founded in 1905 and after being defunct for a spell was resurrected. Attendance last year was over 1.5 million, some 6 times that of the Canadian Baseball League. Winnipeg has many years been first or second in attendance for all of independent baseball in North America.
Not to rain on the parade of this new league, but there is more independent baseball in Canada than just this new league, although the AA is mostly American.
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do they have a canadian player ratio
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There was NEVER a need to cheer for the Rogers Media Baseball Team
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Absolutely
Overstretch using the name “Canadian” here I’d say but whatever.
At any rate, yes, have gone to many games in London, Ont to see the London Majors of the IBL (Pontiacs, Avcos) back in the day, even Denny McLain pitched for them at one time. Great little stadium at the forks of the Thames River:
”According to its heritage designation, Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park) is “believed to be the oldest and most continually used baseball ground in the world,” having hosted its first game in May 1877. The land for the diamond, on the west bank of the Thames River, was purchased by local merchant W.J. Reid. The park was originally named for the Tecumsehs who started to play there during the opening year in 1877. During that year, the London Tecumsehs played the Boston Red Stockings before a crowd of 8,000 people. The park was purchased by the Labatt family in 1936, who donated it to the city. The clubhouse, built in 1937, is one of the few remaining structures of its kind. The park also became home to the London Majors, who won the Intercounty title, the Ontario title, the Canadian title and the World Sandlot title in 1948. Labatt Memorial Park was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1996.”
More on Winnipeg’s baseball history:
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Didn’t know you praire dudes had some baseball pasts. Cool!
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