In the summer of 1991, Harvey Brown and Hans Jonckheere were standing around watching their kids play Eager Beaver Baseball, re-living the glory days of their youth and bemoaning the fact that they didn’t have a chance to play ‘real baseball’ anymore.
Suddenly the light came on and they decided to take a run at starting up their own league of like-minded, over-the-hill guys who truly loved the sport and wanted a chance to play it again in a friendly environment. They started spreading the word. Hans produced flyers and posted them all over town, including gym locker rooms, and they quickly got a great response. Obviously an unmet need was present. After they got going, Paul Cox helped out with the organization. The league had their first meeting at the Waltzing Weasel, and things began to come together for the following season. In 1992 the league began with four teams, with plenty of interest to set up two more. The league was able to play games at Labatt Park for the princely fee of $5, where Hans pitched part of the first game. Initially, the league was called Men’s Over 30 Hardball League.
Without these gentlemen taking the time to make it happen, the league would never have begun!
That was over 30 years ago, and since that time we have matured. We started with 4 teams in 1992, expanded to 6 teams in 1993, 8 teams in 1994 and 10 teams in 2010. The LMBL expanded to 12 teams for the 2016 playing season. 2017 saw further expansion, with the addition of 2 more teams - making us a 14 team league. Interest in Men's Recreational Baseball in the London area is at an all-time high!
LMBL_Article_Aug_1993.pdf