The Canadian Baseball League was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

and

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. His ...

member

Ferguson Jenkins Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins CM (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and ...

. The league featured former major league players such as Francisco Cabrera,

Floyd Youmans Floyd Everett Youmans (born May 11, 1964) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1985–89. He is one of the players dealt by the New York Mets to the Montreal Expos for Hall ...

, Rich Butler,

Steve Sinclair Steven Scott Sinclair (born August 2, 1971 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a former pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Sinclair made his major league debut for the Blue Jays on April 25, 1998, against the Chicago White Sox ...

. The CBL was based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The championship trophy was the Jenkins Cup, named after the commissioner of the league,

History

The CBL was the brainchild of Tony Riviera, a former major league scout, and the face of the league. It was backed by former

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

product developer Charlton Lui, and later by former

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president, and part owner of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, Jeff Mallett.

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

was brought in to act as the league's Commissioner. Riviera's vision had big goals, and he followed suit by making big promises. Riviera stated that the CBL would be "AAA quality", He was rumoured to have approached the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

about switching leagues, and even nominated

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

for the

. The big plans initially appeared to be possible. The league announced a national television deal with sports channel The Score, while a crowd of 5,100 took in the league's inaugural game in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

.enterstageright.com, Jackson Murphy, July 21, 2003
/ref>

Quick demise

However, despite early promises that the league could, and would, average over 2,000 fans per game, it was clear that the CBL was not remotely close to projections. Only two markets averaged over 1,000 fans per game:

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at 1,700 and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

at 1,000.Empty Field of Dreams, thetyee.ca, April 5, 2004
/ref> Four teams averaged fewer than 300 per game:

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

(271),

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

(256),

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...

(181) and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

(163). The national TV deal was cancelled after only six weeks after the CBL was unable to find enough sponsors to cover the production costs. The Montreal franchise never played a game in that city due to a lack of a playing field, as they were denied a lease at

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. Their home games were played at Stade Amedee Roy in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

instead. The Abbotsford Saints relocated to Trois Rivieres, Quebec before the season started. The CBL's swan song was the All-Star game, held at Calgary. Unwilling to absorb any more losses, Mallett pulled the plug on the league, suspending operations the day before the game. A crowd of over 5,700 (the largest crowd to come to Burns Park all season) watched the East and West All-Stars play to a 5-5, ten-inning tie. Following the game, a home run derby was held, in which Jamie Gann of Kelowna hit the only dinger, thus giving the West the victory.CBL all-stars get one final chance to shine, Calgary Herald, July 24, 2003, p. E5
/ref> Despite losing as much as $4 million on the CBL, Mallett initially promised to bring the league back in 2004. However, the remaining assets of the league were quietly auctioned off on December 1, 2003 in Vancouver and the league never returned.

Teams

The eight teams that played in the CBL, and their record at the time the league was suspended. The Calgary Outlaws were declared the Jenkins Cup champions on the basis of having the league's best record. West Division * Calgary Outlaws (24–13) –

Foothills Stadium Foothills Stadium, formerly Burns Stadium, is a stadium in Calgary, Alberta. It is primarily used for baseball, and was formerly home to the Calgary Cannons Triple-A (baseball), AAA baseball club until September 2002, when the team relocated to Al ...

Saskatoon Legends The Saskatoon Legends were a minor league baseball team during the 2003 season. They played in the Canadian Baseball League, which was not a part of Minor League Baseball and therefore not affiliated with Major League Baseball or its member clu ...

(22–15) –

Cairns Field Cairns Field is a stadium in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is primarily used for baseball and most recently the home of the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets of the Western Canadian Baseball League, Western Major Baseball League until their demise in ...

Kelowna Heat The Kelowna Heat were a minor league baseball team located in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team played in the short-lived Canadian Baseball League and was not affiliated with any Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a pr ...

(18–19) –

Elks Stadium Elks Stadium is a baseball stadium located in Kelowna, British Columbia. The stadium is home to the Kelowna Falcons of the West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, compr ...

* Victoria Capitals (13–22) –

Royal Athletic Park Royal Athletic Park is a stadium in Victoria, British Columbia and is used for baseball, soccer, softball and football, but also hosts special events, such as the annual Great Canadian Beer Festival and previously the Rifflandia Music Festival. I ...

East Division *

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

(20–13) –

Labatt Park Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park, 1877–1936) is a baseball stadium near the forks of the Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. It is in size, has 5,200 seats and a natural grass field. From home plate to centre field t ...

Niagara Stars The Niagara Stars played in the independent Canadian Baseball League that existed for half of the summer season of 2003 before folding. Located in the city of Welland, Ontario the team featured a variety of international ballplayers from Canada, ...

(15–15) –

Welland Stadium Welland Stadium is a stadium in Welland, Ontario, Canada. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Welland Pirates of the Short-Season A New York–Penn League who affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Niagara Star ...

* Trois-Rivières Saints (14–17) – Stade Municipal * Montreal Royales (10–22) –

Amedée Roy Stadium Amedée Roy Stadium (french: Stade Amedée-Roy) is a baseball stadium in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. It serves as the home ballpark of an amateur baseball team, the Sherbrooke Expos, and has hosted baseball games during events such as the 2002 Wor ...

(Sherbrooke)

References

{{Professional Baseball Independent baseball leagues 2003 in baseball 2003 disestablishments in Canada 2003 establishments in Canada Sports leagues established in 2003 Sports leagues disestablished in 2003 2003 in Canadian sports Defunct baseball leagues in Canada