Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog

A blog dedicated to news about the Greater Ottawa Fastball League and other happenings in the world of fastball / fastpitch softball in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with occasional stories featuring Mrs Fitzroy Fastball, Fitzroy Fastball Junior and the Caveman. If you have info to send on, send me an email at fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com. Follow @fitzroyfastball on Twitter.

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Sunday, April 03, 2011

Bad news for the Cobourg league

Men's Fastball League can't field enough teams to play this season
By JEFF GARD, NORTHUMBERLAND TODAY

COBOURG -- For the first time in 25 years, the Cobourg Men's Fastball League will not operate this summer, and quite possibly, not again.

Last week the league was to hold its first official meeting to prepare for the 2011 season, however, only a couple of hours prior to the meeting, league president Layton Dodge said he was informed that the B&B Electric team didn't have enough players and wouldn't be returning.

That would have left only the Foodland Crush, Grafton Jays and eagle.cateams.

"We can't operate with only three teams," Dodge said.

Dodge recalled there being previous stoppages in the long history of the league. The last was in 1986 and he believes there were at least two or three years during the 1960s it didn't operate as well.

Following the hiatus in 1986, the league grew to 11 teams with a couple of years. In recent years, though, the league fielded five teams and then dropped to four teams in 2010.

Still, four teams was manageable last season and the league maintained an 18-game regular season schedule before two playoff rounds.

Games were played Monday and Wednesdays at Legion Fields in Cobourg, Tuesdays in Grafton and Thursdays in Baltimore.

In January, the league held an emergency meeting to ensure there would be enough teams to compete this season and at the time it was believed there would be. That made the news last week more shocking.

"As president of the league and a longtime executive member, I was very disappointed when I heard we would not have enough teams to operate," Dodge said.

It's likely some players will go play in other leagues while some may not play at all this summer. The four teams that competed in 2010 will split a surplus in money the league is carrying.

"I only hope (our players) enjoy success wherever they play and do something positive with the money that is being dispensed to the four teams."

Dodge expects the current executive will only revisit the operation of the league in the future on the request of the players.

"If they came to us and said we would like to have a league again, I think the executive would be willing to look at it," he said.

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