The NCABL (North Central Alberta Baseball League) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. As part of those celebrations and in conjunction with SAMBA (St. Albert Minor Baseball Association) and the City of St. Albert 150 Committee, we are promoting a family oriented event dubbed “Family Tail Gate Party and All-Star Game”. This event will be held at Legion Memorial Ball Park in St. Albert on Sunday, July 16th, from 11:00 AM until 6:00 PM. The essential components of this event include:

Focus on a large scale family picnic surrounding the diamonds at Legion Field with a special promo thrown in. The first 25 pick-up trucks to arrive on site with any kind of BBQ in the back, will receive a family pack of frozen hamburger on us and a table will be set aside for their family to enjoy a good old family tail gate picnic.

Inside the grounds, a concession will offer food services to those preferring not to prepare a picnic, there will also be numerous kiosk’s setup from some local vendors such as NCABL Merchandise Sales, Prairie Couture, Good Life Fitness, etc. Also, once inside the grounds, elementary aged students will be invited to participate in ten “old time picnic activities”, organized and directed by volunteers from the NCABL and the City of St. Albert 150 Committee. Once completed, children will receive complimentary ice cream. Throughout the early afternoon, volunteers will be mingling with the crowd providing Canada birthday curios, face painting for kids, etc.

All children are admitted free, while adults will be asked a nominal $5 fee for admission to the grounds where an afternoon rock concert featuring the ever popular local band “Mourning Wood” will perform on an outdoor stage. Also featured in the afternoon will be the finalists of the St. Albert singer/songwriter competition.

The final event of the day will include a grand entrance by the two NCABL All-Star clubs led by a horsewoman on a beautiful quarter horse carrying a huge Canada-150 flag. On-field celebrations will include a rendition of Home to Me by Lia Cole, grand prize winner of St. Albert’s150 Songwriting Competition. After the official opening pitch, and player introductions, spectators will be treated to a game played by the League’s top talent. During the game, spectators will have an opportunity to win many beautiful gifts which will be drawn throughout the game.

Join the Flock of Eager Birds and Save

Don’t wait until August to register for the Alumni Week-End in Westlock. This link will take you directly to the on-line registration form. If you are an alumni, please join the alumni club first. This will guarantee that you will receive any and all mail-outs concerning the 50th anniversary celebrations as well as any future mail outs pertaining to our alumni members. Remember that even if you are not an alumni of the NCABL, you can still use our 50th anniversary form to pre-register for any of our events. You can also pre-order anniversary memorabilia from our great selection of items using our on-line registration form. By purchasing a package deal, you can save big time and have access to many free items such as a free day pass to the agricultural and chuck wagon events as well as to a free commemorative magazine among other giveaways that you will find in your welcome grab bag when you arrive and present yourself at the welcome desk at the Spirit Centre in Westlock. The Eager Bird Offer ends on June 30th, so don’t delay. If you are more comfortable registering by mail, simply download the registration form from our website, print it, and mail us your form with payment to: NCABL at P.O. Box 3298, Morinville, Alberta, T8R 1S2.

Sherwood Park Athletics Host Community Appreciation Night

The Sherwood Park Athletics have returned home to Centennial Park after a three year absence and are getting into the spirit of the League’s 50th anniversary celebrations by hosting a free family event on the evening of Friday, June 16th, at Centennial Park. Fans of the Athletics and fans of good baseball are welcome to attend this special community tribute which will feature a regular season game between the Athletics and the visiting Edmonton Primeaus. A full service food truck will be on site and beer sales throughout the stands will enhance everyone’s viewing pleasure. This is a great opportunity to cheer on the Athletics as they express their gratitude to their local community. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Tune in on Monday Evenings or Anytime for Earl Thompson’s Weekly Show

As audio-visual director for the NCABL, Earl Thompson provides weekly analysis, conducts interviews, and gives broad coverage of the North Central Alberta Baseball League through his program. Tune in to hear the latest on “Circling the Bases” by clicking here.

Have You Registered As An NCABL Alumni Yet?

Our 50th anniversary year is just around the corner and the NCABL is planning to celebrate this milestone event in a big way. We have been busy locating all of our players, managers, coaches, and umpires over the past year, but many of you have not yet found your way onto our alumni registry. E-mail invitations will be sent out to everyone on that alumni registry and these invitations will be issued early in the new year. We do not want you to be left out. So take a few minutes right now and click here, which will lead you through a very quick and easy registration process. Many clubs have enjoyed years of quality baseball as members of our great League and we would like nothing more than to have you gather everyone with whom you shared such great memories as players and bring them together for both a team reunion and League celebration. We will even honour individual requests for special group seating at the Gala Banquet so that you can spend quality time reminiscing with all of the old boys of summer. Over the coming months, more and more details will be released through our website regarding our six major events and ten smaller commemorative events organized by each of our current clubs. The 2017 season will be a blast for all five decades of players who donned uniforms in the NCABL. We want you all there. To help us locate a greater number of alumni, we are welcoming volunteers to serve as club representatives. Simply contact me, your commissioner ,to let me know which of the clubs listed below you would be willing to represent by searching for their E-mail addresses and a current telephone number. With your help, we hope to reach hundreds who once played this wonderful game in the north central Alberta area.

Which Club(s) Have You Played For?

The following alphabetical listing of clubs should jog your memory and wet your appetite for our biggest baseball gathering yet. For a summary of major events and dates, go to League and scroll down to our calendar. Have fun recalling those times when you wore a uniform for one or more of our family of clubs. In case you haven’t counted, sixty-three clubs have played in the NCABL over its 50 year history. That number will remain providing no new franchises apply to the League for the 2017 regular season.

Alexander Braves	Legal Pontiacs
Alexander Jr. Braves	Legal Primeaus
Alexis Athletics	Linaria Flyers
Athabasca Angels	Mayerthorpe Mets
Athabasca Lions	Mayerthorpe Mustangs
Athabasca Ravens	Morinville Manufacturers
Bon Accord Tigers	Morinville Merchants
Barrhead Astros	Morinville Merlins
Barrhead Blue Jays	Morinville PBI
Barrhead Broncos	Morinville Pioneers
Barrhead Cardinals	Morinville Primeaus
Barrhead Orioles	Namao
Barrhead Yankees	Parkland Whitesox
Barrhead Jr. Yankees	Redwater Pontiacs
Camrose Axemen	Rochester Lyons
Easyford Colts	Rochester Royals
Edmonton Athletic	St. Albert
Edmonton Blackhawks	St. Albert Cardinals
Edmonton Indians	St. Albert Mariners
Edmonton Jays	Sherwood Park Athletics
Edmonton North Stars	Spruce Grove Cubs
Edmonton Primeaus	Stony Plain Mets
Edmonton Stars	Sturgeon Paladins
Edmonton Warriors	Sturgeon Rustlers
Fawcett Pirates	Vimy Blues
St. Saskatchewan Pirates	Waskatenau Chiefs
Gibbons	Westlock Astros
Grant MacEwan Griffins	Westlock Chevies
Horse Hill	Westlock Cobras
Lac La Biche Loggers	Westlock Legionnaires
Lamont	Westlock Red Lions
Legal Indians

An open letter of invitation to all NCABL Alumni
Issued by the Commissioner of the NCABL

The North Central Alberta Baseball League will be marking its 50th anniversary this year in conjunction with Canada's 150th birthday. To commemorate this remarkable achievement, the NCABL will be organizing six major events over the course of the regular season. The first of these will be taking place in Morinville, Alberta, on April 6th ,at the Historical Museum where the League will be unveiling its Hall of Fame. This is the first sport specific Hall of Fame ever opened by an independent league in the history of the Province of Alberta.

The second major event will be taking place on Sunday, July 16th, in St. Albert, Alberta. This event will incorporate the annual All-Star Game and will include a family friendly “old fashioned” tail gate party replete with outdoor entertainment for young and old. Plan on joining us for a full afternoon of camaraderie and great baseball.

All other events will be taking place during our alumni week-end from August 18th through 20th in Westlock, Alberta. This week-end offers the perfect opportunity for a team reunion while celebrating a significant milestone in our League's history. I invite all of our alumni to first join our registry by going on-line and providing us with a few basic pieces of information. Every registered alumni will be receiving a personal invitation in the form of a detailed package of information to be issued early in the month of April. Details of all events will also be posted on our main page at www.ncabl.ab.ca on an ongoing basis. Since significant advance planning is required to stage such a week-end, the NCABL is offering a tremendous Early Bird Premium Alumni Week-End Package. Look for it, register early, and plan on spending an unforgettable week-end with your NCABL family.

Major Events during the Alumni Week-End will include:

Friday, August 18th, 2017:	Agricultural Fair Parade
	Meet & Greet: The NCABL Story
Saturday, August 19th, 2017:	Alumni Mixed Texas Scramble Golf Tournament
	Championship Semi-Final A&B (free admission)
	Salute to Our Communities: A Sports Expo (free admission
	50th Anniversary Gala Banquet
Sunday, August 20th, 2017:	Championship Semi-Final Series A&B (free admission)
Friday - Sunday:	AG Society Events including chuckwagon races & more

We will be providing free holiday trailer parking (without hook-ups) within the Town of Westlock on a pre-registration basis only. We have also negotiated special rates at three local hotels. When booking, please mention the NCABL (North Central Alberta Baseball League) to obtain the best rates. These will be guaranteed until July 15th only. Take the first step and book you hotel accommodations as soon as the invitations are released early in April.

NCABL Hall of Fame Opens in Morinville

The first sport specific Hall of Fame to be opened in Alberta by an amateur league was dedicated during an official ceremony in Morinville on the evening of April 6th. Housed in the Morinville Historical Museum, the Hall of Fame will henceforth become the permanent home for the NCABL’s major annual awards. Also to be housed in this location will be the League’s extensive archival collection including administrative manuals, comprehensive statistical data on teams and players, press books, and artifacts of historical note.

Beautiful oak cabinets with soft interior lighting provide a rich backdrop for the League’s major awards.

The event was attended by mayors, deputy mayors, and councillors from numerous municipal jurisdictions. Joining them were representatives from the NCABL Board of Governors, Directors from the NCABL 50th Anniversary Executive Committee, members from the Morinville Historical Society, and other special guests. Covering the event were numerous media sources from the region. Murray Knight welcomed those gathered on behalf of the Morinville Historical Society before introducing Commissioner Paul Riopel who spoke warmly of the partnership between the League and the Historical Society. Mr. Riopel then turned his attention to depicting baseball as a significant contributor to the development and fabric of early pioneer life before morphing into the highly skilled game we have grown to know today.

Commissioner Riopel delivers the welcoming address before forty dignitaries to open the NCABL Hall of Fame.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was presided over by Deputy-Mayor Nicole Boutestein from Morinville, City Mayor Nolan Crouse from St. Albert, and Councillor Curtis Snell from Westlock. The three aforementioned communities were all designated as host sites for the NCABL’s six 50th anniversary events running from April through August of this year in conjunction with Canada’s 150th birthday.

( From left to right) Councillor Curtis Snell, Deputy-Mayor Nicole Boutestein, and Mayor Nolan Crouse are focused on during the official ribbon cutting ceremony which opened the NCABL Hall of Fame.