The Stratford Nationals were a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

baseball team based in

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River within Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2016 population of 31,465 in a land area of . Stratford is the seat of Perth County, which was settled by English, Irish, Scottish and German im ...

, that competed in the

Intercounty Baseball League The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian amateur baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario. The league was formed in 1919 and ...

, an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League and Frontie ...

Early history

For many years, Stratford was a premier franchise in the Intercounty Baseball League and one of the league's founding members in 1919 (along with Galt, Guelph, and Kitchener). The team operated at various times as the Stratford Nationals, the Stratford Kraven Knits, and Stratford Hillers.

Late history

The team was moved from St. Thomas, Ontario, to Stratford in 2004 after several years of dwindling fan support in St. Thomas. They played their home games at National Stadium. Prior to its re-location, the team changed its name from the Storm to the Nationals for the 2006 season, in view of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

's historical importance to Stratford. The Nationals struggled in their final seasons, missing the playoffs regularly. On November 25, 2008, the team announced that the league had approved the sale of the Stratford Nationals to Elliott Kerr, president of the Landmark Sports Group, and the transfer of the franchise to the City of Mississauga, where it became the Mississauga Twins.

Championships

Intercounty League * 1934 (as the Nationals) * 1938 (as the Nationals) * 1939 (as the Nationals) * 1940 (as the Nationals) * 1946 (as the Nationals) * 1974 (as the Kraven Knits) * 1976 (as the Hillers) * 1977 (as the Hillers) * 1980 (as the Hillers) * 1986 (as the Hillers) * 1987 (as the Hillers) * 1989 (as the Hillers) * 1991 (as the Hillers) * 1992 (as the Hillers) The Stratford Nationals also won the Ontario Baseball Association title in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934.

External links

References

* ''Intercounty Baseball League's 1998 Record Book'' by Editor Herb Morell and Dominico Promotions Inc. Intercounty Baseball League Baseball teams established in 1919 Sport in Stratford, Ontario Baseball teams in Ontario {{Canada-baseball-team-stub