GHBL History
The Golden Horseshoe Baseball League (GHBL), located in the "Golden Horseshoe" region of Ontario, Canada, was founded in the winter of 2007. The league was formed out of necessity as the local ICBL mens league no longer offered membership to Burlington baseball teams. During winter meetings it was decided that the Lakeshore Baseball League would merge with these Burlington baseball outcasts, forming the GHBL. A Brantford team also joined the league and the original 13 teams played in the inaugural GHBL season competing for the coveted Brewer Cup. The league played as a single tier with the top 8 teams moving on to the playoffs. The remaining 5 teams had their own playoffs as they played a round-robin format as a second tier.
In 2008, the league separated into three tiers for the regular season and interest exploded. The number of teams jumped from 13 to 24. Several teams from Hamilton and Oakville moved over to the GHBL from the ICBL.
With 23 teams playing in the 2009 season, the GHBL enacted a two-tier system for the regular season with the second tier splitting into two tiers for the playoffs. Tier 1 experimented with the use of wood bats as some teams agreed to play games using only lumber.
2010 saw a return to baseball's roots with a Tier 1 ruling that only wood bats were to be used throughout the season for all teams in every game. Interest in the league continued to grow as the GHBL was now home to 27 teams separated into three tiers.
The 2011 season continued with the three tier format as 25 teams stepped to the plate. With the league looking to move exclusively to wood bats in 2012, there were some wood bat games in Tier 2 and Tier 3 in preparation for the change.
The 2012 season cemented the change to wood bats as the league officially became wood only. The GHBL continued as a three tiered leage and an astounding 31 teams participated, making it the second largest mens baseball league in Ontario!
2013 has seen the expansion continue as 33 teams are set to participate in the GHBL's 7th season. The league is again split into three tiers, wood bat exclusive.
