Canada’s oldest men’s hardball league continues to swing away in our own backyard.
In September 1933, Foxboro defeated Cannifton in the South Hastings Baseball League Championship Series to become the league’s first-ever champions and the inaugural winners of the W.E. Tummon Cup. The championship trophy was donated by William Ernest Tummon, then Conservative Member of Parliament for Hastings South.
In 2026, the SHBL celebrates 93 years of local baseball history, with seven teams competing for the league championship—now known as the Thornton Portt Memorial Championship Trophy.
Operating independently from the Ontario Baseball Association, the SHBL is widely regarded as the oldest continuously operating senior men’s baseball league in Canada, and one of the oldest in the world. The only seasons in which a championship was not awarded occurred during World War II (1942–1944), when the league was limited to playing just a single game each year. More recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the league successfully completed a modified 15-game playoff format.
The SHBL has deep roots in the local community, with teams historically representing Foxboro, Cannifton, Melrose, Shannonville, Latta, Belleville, Marysville, Read, Corbyville, Deseronto, Tyendinaga, Oak Lake, Picton, and Lonsdale. Since 2016, all league games have been played at the Tyendinaga Recreation Complex in Melrose, utilizing both Jim Uens Field and Thornton Portt Field.
The 2026 regular season is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m., with the defending champion Uens Pole Line facing the Rhino Lining Rockies. The remaining teams include the Leighton Electric Mudhens, Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks, Parkhurst Tripps Pirates, Read McGuinness Water Solutions Young Guns, and the Tyendinaga Cardinals.
Each team will play a 17-game regular season schedule, with the exception of the Mudhens, who will play 12 games and face each opponent twice. The regular season champion will earn a first-round playoff bye. The opening round of the playoffs will be a best-of-three series, followed by best-of-seven formats for both the semifinals and championship series.
In addition, the SHBL’s youth affiliate, the South Hastings Juniors U15 team, will aim to return to the OBA Select Provincial Championships for the second consecutive year. The South Hastings Juniors are also planning to have teams at the U13 and U18 levels this summer.
With the assistance of Amanda Hill, Archivist for the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County, the league has compiled a complete and verified list of SHBL championship teams and their opponents. This information has been confirmed through archival newspaper records and official league documentation.
SOUTH HASTINGS BASEBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1933 – Foxboro ( Vs Cannifton Sluggers )
1934 – Foxboro ( Vs Latta )
1935 – Latta ( Vs Foxboro )
1936 – Foxboro ( Vs Latta )
1937 – Latta ( Vs Foxboro )
1938 – Foxboro ( Vs Cannifton Sluggers )
1939 – Cannifton Sluggers ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1940 – Cannifton Sluggers ( Vs Latta )
1941 – Latta ( Vs Cannifton Sluggers )
1942 – No winner awarded.
1943 – No winner awarded.
1944 – No winner awarded.
1945 – Latta ( Vs Cannifton Combines )
1946 – Read ( Vs Latta )
1947 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Cannifton Combines )
1948 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Read )
1949 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Latta )
1950 – Latta Lumbermen ( Vs Cannifton Clippers )
1951 – Latta ( Vs Read )
1952 – Latta ( Vs Cannifton Clippers )
1953 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1954 – Read ( Vs Latta )
1955 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Cannifton Clippers )
1956 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Latta )
1957 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Latta )
1958 – Read ( Vs Latta )
1959 – Latta ( Vs Read )
1960 – Read ( Vs Cannifton Clippers )
1961 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Read )
1962 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Foxboro Foxes )
1963 – Cannifton Clippers ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1964 – Cannifton Plane’s Concrete ( Vs Foxboro Foxes )
1965 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Latta )
1966 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Latta )
1967 – Read ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1968 – Cannifton Plane’s Concrete ( Vs Read )
1969 – Read ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1970 – Cannifton Plane’s Concrete ( Vs Read )
1971 – Cannifton Plane’s Concrete ( Vs Read )
1972 – Read ( Vs Melrose )
1973 – Latta ( Vs Melrose )
1974 – Melrose ( Vs Latta )
1975 – Latta ( Vs Melrose )
1976 – Latta ( Vs Foxboro Merchants )
1977 – Cannifton Plane’s Concrete ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1978 – Melrose Bonnar Sports ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
1979 – Melrose Bonnar Sports ( Vs Latta )
1980 – Read Ellis Construction ( Vs Latta )
1981 – Foxboro I.G.A. ( Vs Read )
1982 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Foxboro I.G.A. )
1983 – Foxboro I.G.A. ( Vs Latta )
1984 – Foxboro I.G.A. ( Vs Latta )
1985 – Foxboro I.G.A. ( Vs Cannifton )
1986 – Foxboro Black’s Transport ( Vs Marysville )
1987 – Foxboro ( Vs Marysville )
1988 – Marysville ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1989 – Marysville Farrell Fam. Enterprises ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1990 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Read )
1991 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Marysville )
1992 – Latta Maple Dale Cheese ( Vs Marysville )
1993 – Shannonville Hawks ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1994 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Marysville )
1995 – Marysville Dooley’s Bar And Grill ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1996 – Marysville Dooley’s Bar And Grill ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1997 – Latta Maple Dale Cheese Rivermen ( Vs Picton Selects )
1998 – Latta Rivermen ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
1999 – Latta Don Cherry’s Rivermen ( Vs Marysville Mike’s Restaurant )
2000 – Marysville Mike’s Restaurant ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
2001 – Marysville Mike’s Restaurant ( Vs Melrose Tal Trees )
2002 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Shannonville United Rentals Hawks )
2003 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Unconfirmed Melrose Tal Trees or Shannonville Hawks )
2004 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Melrose Tal Trees )
2005 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Shannonville Hawks )
2006 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Master Bedroom Brewers )
2007 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Melrose Tal Trees )
2008 – Uens Pole Line Construction. ( Vs Melrose Tal Trees )
2009 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Melrose Gerard Farrell Excavating )
2010 – Melrose Tal Trees ( Vs Latta Rivermen )
2011 – Melrose Tal Trees ( Vs Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks )
2012 – Latta Rivermen ( Vs Master Bedroom Brewers )
2013 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Master Bedroom Brewers )
2014 – Latta Rivermen ( Vs Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks )
2015 – Maclan Designs ( Vs Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks )
2016 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Read Free Flow Petroleum Young Guns )
2017 – Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
2018 – Bain Excavating Shamrocks ( Vs Melrose Farrell Excavating Shamrocks )
2019 – Maclan Designs ( Vs Bain Excavating Rockies )
2020 – Bain Excavating Rockies ( Vs Maclan Designs )
2021 – Bain Excavating Rockies ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
2022 – Bain Excavating Rockies ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
2023 – Bain Excavating Rockies ( Vs Uens Pole Line Construction )
2024 – Bain Excavating Rockies ( Vs Read McGuinness Water Solutions Young Guns )
2025 – Uens Pole Line Construction ( Vs Rhino Lining Rockies )
SOUTH HASTINGS BASEBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY HISTORY
1933 – 1952 : The W.E. Tummon Cup Trophy
1953 – 1957 : The Dr. Bateman Cup Trophy
1958 – 1969 : The Lee Grills Trophy
1964 – 1981 : The Buck Pascoe Trophy
1982 – 2006 : SHBL Championship Trophy
2007 – Present : The Thornton Portt Memorial Trophy
