The Western Major Baseball League (the “WMBL”) is Canada’s pre-eminent summer collegiate baseball league. The predecessors to the WMBL date back to 1948. Over the past 56 years the league has gone by such names as the Canadian-American Baseball League, the Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League, the Alberta-Saskatchewan Baseball League, the Western Canadian Baseball League, the Saskatchewan Baseball League and since 2000, the WMBL.

The WMBL boasts a long standing tradition of creating a showcase for top Canadian professional and college prospects while at the same time offering American college players the opportunity to hone their skills in front of enthusiastic baseball fans in towns and cities throughout the Prairies.

The WMBL is a wood bat league in the tradition of such outstanding American collegiate circuits as the Cape Cod League, the New England Collegiate League, the Coastal Plains League, the Northwoods League and in the nearby Pacific Northwest, the Pacific International League and the newly formed, West Coast Collegiate League.

There have been two constants over the decades that the WMBL and its predecessor leagues have been in operation: first, the quality of the baseball which professional scouts have consistently compared to the Single A professional level, and second, the quality of the summer experience for players.

In terms of the quality of the baseball, over the years numerous future major league players have spent their summers playing in the WMBL. Going back to the early grassroots days, old-timers will recall names like Jerry Adair, who came to the league from Oklahoma State and later enjoyed 13 major league seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Ted Bosfield pitched against WMBL competition before playing for the Red Sox, Angels, Royals and Indians.

Before Nelson Briles was a big league star with the St. Louis Cardinals over a 14 year career, he had starred in Calgary, having arrived from Santa Clara University. Don Buford came from the University of Southern California to spend two summers with the Edmonton Eskimos baseball team before signing with the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox. Tug McGraw came north from Vallejo Junior College in California to play for Lethbridge before enjoying several successful seasons in the bigs with the Mets and the Phillies. And a couple of pretty good Los Angeles Dodgers, Ron Fairly and Ron Perranoski played summer college ball on the prairies before enjoying stellar professional careers.

The tradition of showcasing top college prospects from both sides of the border has continued with several former WMBL players being drafted by Major League Baseball every year. ne by such names as the Canadian-American Baseball League, the Northern Saskatchewan Baseball League, the Alberta-Saskatchewan Baseball League, the Western Canadian Baseball League, the Saskatchewan Baseball League and since 2000, the WMBL.

The WMBL boasts a long standing tradition of creating a showcase for top Canadian professional and college prospects while at the same time offering American college players the opportunity to hone their skills in front of enthusiastic baseball fans in towns and cities throughout the Prairies.

The WMBL is a wood bat league in the tradition of such outstanding American collegiate circuits as the Cape Cod League, the New England Collegiate League, the Coastal Plains League, the Northwoods League and in the nearby Pacific Northwest, the Pacific International League and the newly formed, West Coast Collegiate League.

There have been two constants over the decades that the WMBL and its predecessor leagues have been in operation: first, the quality of the baseball which professional scouts have consistently compared to the Single A professional level, and second, the quality of the summer experience for players.

In terms of the quality of the baseball, over the years numerous future major league players have spent their summers playing in the WMBL. Going back to the early grassroots days, old-timers will recall names like Jerry Adair, who came to the league from Oklahoma State and later enjoyed 13 major league seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Ted Bosfield pitched against WMBL competition before playing for the Red Sox, Angels, Royals and Indians.

Before Nelson Briles was a big league star with the St. Louis Cardinals over a 14 year career, he had starred in Calgary, having arrived from Santa Clara University. Don Buford came from the University of Southern California to spend two summers with the Edmonton Eskimos baseball team before signing with the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox. Tug McGraw came north from Vallejo Junior College in California to play for Lethbridge before enjoying several successful seasons in the bigs with the Mets and the Phillies. And a couple of pretty good Los Angeles Dodgers, Ron Fairly and Ron Perranoski played summer college ball on the prairies before enjoying stellar professional careers.

The tradition of showcasing top college prospects from both sides of the border has continued with several former WMBL players being drafted by Major League Baseball every year. 

Source: WMBL Official Website.