The History of Gratiot County Baseball League

            The Gratiot County League has a long, cherished history to many people in the area. Baseball teams formed in Gratiot County as early as 1921.  Leagues started as early as 1928.   There were four different leagues in Gratiot County running at the same time. In 1942, the leagues were interrupted because of World War II. Baseball in Gratiot County flourished again in 1946 when G.C.B.L. founder and hall of famer, Bill Lapaugh, re-organized the league. The league was named Gratiot County Mens’ Baseball League and existed with two other leagues in Gratiot County.

            In 1950 the G.C.B.L. east league champion would play the west league champion and the best two out of three games would decide the winner of the G.C.B.L. After the 1957 season the west league went on its own and became the Tri-County League through 1988.  From 1958-presant day the G.C.B.L. is all that remains in Gratiot County. We are all humbled by the fact that the G.C.B.L is the longest continuously run league in Michigan.

            The league has had as many as 16 teams and as low as 4. The longest running team in the league is Fulton joining in 1977.

            The GCBL has had several legendary teams throughout its long history.  Some highlights include:

• Elwell - who dominated the league in the 1940’s through the early 1950’s and held 11 championship titles
• St. Louis - who tallied 10 championships in the early 1950’s through the early 1960’s
• Ionia - who reined through the 1990’s and early 2000’s and earned a total of 19 championships
• Riverdale – who controlled the league in the late 1970’s through the early 2000’s with a total of 13 championships
• Finally, Ashley – the pride of them all – who dominated the late 1950’s through early 1990’s and won  an amazing 44 championships in all

In order to promote the league and celebrate the end of the season, the GCBL began its annual Labor Day Tournament in 2004.  The end of season awards banquet also celebrates team and individual player performances as well as recognizing past achievements with our Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. 

Annual Player awards include:

·        Batting title, since 1947, our oldest award given for the highest batting average in the season

·        Home run title – since 1964 for the most season homeruns

·        Stolen base title – since 2004 for the most stolen bases in the season

·        Pitching Title –  since 1958 best pitcher and pitching record in the league

·        League MVP – since 2013 – best overall player in the league

·        All-League Team – recognizing best players on each team in the league since 2004

    Team Awards include:

·        Season Champions – Best win record in regular season play – awarded since 1946

·        Tournament champs – given for post-season playoffs-- or our version of the World Series – awarded since 1946.  Also called the Bill LaPaugh Award.

·        Outstanding Coach Award – since 2005 – recognizing the coach with the best record in the league and named the Louie Sipkovsky Award