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BCMBA History

THE EARLY YEARS

The British Columbia Minor Baseball Association was organized in the fall of 1963 at a meeting in New Westminster, British Columbia. Ninety interested baseball enthusiasts were present at this first meeting. The new organization grew out of a desire to develop a provincial association that could determine its own policies and affiliation guidelines to deal with local interests and concerns.

At the end of the 1963 baseball season eleven leagues in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia held their own, non-affiliated, tournament. This new format proved to be a great success and there then developed the interest to hold fall meetings that year to create a new association to create the structure for local affiliation and competition.

In the first year of actual operation, the British Columbia Minor Baseball Association was made up of 20 leagues with representation in the Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Surrey, Okanagan and Kootenay districts of British Columbia. At the conclusion of the successful first year, the Renfrew Heights League were the winners of the Provincial Championships.

In 1965 the B.C.M.B.A. grew to 28 leagues and merged with the Little Canadian Baseball League based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This association allowed the B.C. Minor Provincial Champions to compete at an inter-provincial level. The West Richmond League were the B.C. Provincial Champions and they traveled to Winnipeg where they lost 2 games to 1 to the C.P.A.C. team from Winnipeg.

By 1966 the B.C.M.B.A. had grown to 33 leagues and had expanded to the northern areas of British Columbia. In the same year Pony and Colt leagues were incorporated on an associate basis and this allowed B.C. Minor to provide a structured baseball program for athletes aged 8 years to 16 years of age. The Trail Little Canadian League was victorious that year over the Mandak League and won the Little Canadian Championship Shield. Kennedy-Newton won the Pony Division and South Burnaby won the Colt Division.

In 1967 the Richmond Central League won the Little Canadian Provincial and Canadian Championships. The Pony and Colt Provincial Championships were won by Kennedy-Newton.

In 1968 the Richmond Central League again won the Provincial and Canadian Championships and the Victoria Carnarvon League won the Provincial and Canadian Championships and represented Canada in the Pony World Series at Washington, Pennsylvania. The Kennedy-Newton Provincial and Canadian Champions represented Canada in the Colt World Series at Riverside, California.

In 1969 the Little Canadian Southern Slope League won the Provincial and Canadian Championships. The Victoria Carnarvon League won the Pony Provincial and Canadian Championships and represented Canada at the Pony World Series in Washington, Pennsylvania and the Victoria Colt team won the Provincial and Canadian Championships and represented Canada at the Colt World Series in Lafayette, Indiana.

In 1970 the B.C. Minor Baseball Association adopted the Canadian Bronco Program which allowed full lead-offs and running on a dropped third strike. The North Richmond All-Stars won both the Provincial and Canadian Championships. The Richmond South-Central Pony All-Stars won the Provincial and Canadian Championships and went on the represent Canada at the Pony World Series held in Washington, Pennsylvania. The Victoria Colt All-Stars won the Provincial and Canadian Championships and represented Canada in the Colt World Series in Lafayette, Indiana.

In 1971 there were major changes in the B.C. Minor regulations and tournament play. The cut off age for eligibility was changed to January 1st to conform with the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball guideline. This change helped to pave the way for a national championship in all of the age groups of B.C. Minor.