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OCSL Championship History - "A" Division
PLAYOFFS
2008 Marc Sports over Yankees (3-0)
2007 Gators over Marc Sports
2006 Marc Sports over Yankees
2005 Yankees over Marc Sports
2004 Marc Sports over Yankees (3-2)
2003 Marc Sports over Yankees
2002 Marc Sports over Bisons
2001 Yankees over Bisons (3-0)
2000 unknown
1999 Yankees over Bisons (3-2)
1998 Marc Sports over Savin Knights (3-1)
1997 Marc Sports over Yankees
1996 Savin Knights over Marc Sports
1995 Savin Knights over Yankees
1994 Yankees over Whispers Braves
1993 Yankees over Ottawa Indians
1992 Yankees over Ottawa Indians
1991 Yankees over Hull Volant
1990 Yankees over Ottawa Classics
1989 Gerrys Moving over Don Spratt
1988 Sounds Great over Gerrys Moving
1987 Sounds Great over Estrol Marketing
1986 Premier Property over Estrol Marketing
1985 Not available
1984 Digital Cavaliers over Kings (3-1)
1983 Yankees over Sounds Great
1982 Yankees over Digital Cavaliers
1981 Digital Cavaliers over State Farm (3-1)
1980 Yankees over Digital Cavaliers (3-1)
1979 Dan Wolff over Yankees (3-2)
REGULAR SEASON
2008 Marc Sports (17-6-0)
2007 Marc Sports (18-5-1)
2006 Marc Sports (12-11-1)
2005 ?
2004 Yankees (14-2)
2003 Yankees (13-5)
2002 Marc Sports (19-4-1)
2001 Marc Sports (18-5-1)
2000 Yankees (20-3-1)
1999 Yankees (21-3)
1998 Marc Sports (13-3-1)
1997 Marc Sports (16-7-1)
1996 Marc Sports (16-8)
1995 Savin Knights (19-4-1)
1994 Whisper's Braves (20-5)
1993 Yankees (19-6)
1992 Yankees (19-3-2)
1991 Yankees (22-6)
1990 Ottawa Classics (23-6)
1989 Don Spratt (24-2)
1988 Premier Property (22-6)
1987 unknown
1986 Premier Propery (24-4)
1985 unknown
1984 Kings (19-6-2)
1983 Yankees (19-5-1)
1982 Yankees (19-3-2)
1981 Yankees (25-1-1)
1980 Yankees (18-6)
1979 unknown
OCSL Championship History - "B" Division
PLAYOFFS
2008 Broadway over Wings
2007 Broadway over Wings (3-1)
2006 Lacroix over Expos (3-0)
2005 Gators over Bisons (3-2)
2004 Bisons over Gators (3-2)
2003 Gators over Hitmen (3-1)
2002 Gators over Wings (3-0)
2001 Ottawa Expos over Gators (3-2)
2000 Ottawa Expos over Gators
1999 ** See note below **
1998 Whispers Braves over Premier Property (3-0)
1997 Father & Sons Blues over Nitewatch (3-1)
1996 Premier Property over Classics
1995 Premier Property over Sounds Great
1994 Gators over Sounds Great
1993 Premier Property over Pancho Villa
1992 Father & Sons Blues over Fanatics
1991 Father & Sons Blues over Fanatics
1990 Pronto Food Mart over Gerrys Moving
1989 Sounds Great over Pronto Food Mart
1988 Royal Oak over Defalco Wines
REGULAR SEASON
2008 Broadway
2007 Giants
2006 Lacroix Sports (17-6-1)
2005 Bisons (20-3-1)
2004 Gators (16-5-3)
2003 Gators (20-3-1)
2002 Sounds Great (16-8)
2001 Gators (17-4-3)
2000 ** see note below **
1999 ** see note below **
1998 Premier Property (20-4)
1997 Premier Property (16-5-3)
1996 Classics (19-5)
1995 Premier Property (20-5)
1994 Premier Property (19-3-2)
1993 Premier Property (21-2-2)
1992 Father & Sons Blues (21-4)
1991 Fanatics (17-11)
1990 Pronto Food Mart (16-10-2)
Notes:
* In 2000, there was one combined division for A and B. The top four regular season teams played for the "A" title and the remaining teams played for the "B" title. The "C" Division was separate.
* In 1999, there was only one division in the OCSL; it is listed under "A" Division.
* In 1988 and 1989, there was only one division for the regular season. The top 8 teams played for the "A" playoff title, and the remaining teams played for the "B" playoff title.
OCSL Championship History - "C" Division
PLAYOFFS
2008 Pennex Red Sox over Martel & Sons (3-0)
2007 Avnet Citizen Gargoyles over Pennex Red Sox
2006 Martel & Sons over Acadiens (3-2)
2005 Acadiens over Martel & Sons (3-0)
2004 Ollson Sports over Lacroix Sports (3-2)
2003 Broadway over Ottawa Citizen
2002 Montgomery Legion over Sharks (3-1)
2001 Grace OMalleys over Montgomery (3-1)
2000 Ottawa Citizen over SIRC Whispers
1999 No C Division
1998 Montgomery Legion over AMS (3-1)
1997 Buffalo Charlies over Ironmen
REGULAR SEASON
2008 Pennex Red Sox
2007 Pennex Red Sox
2006 Acadiens/Maritimers (20-4-0)
2005 Acadiens/Maritimers (17-7-0)
2004 Lacroix Sports (18-5-1)
2003 Ottawa Citizen (16-6-2)
2002 Broadway (15-7-2)
2001 Montgomery Legion (17-7-0)
2000 SIRC Whispers (17-6-1)
1999 No "C" Division
1998 Montgomery Legion (13-11-0)
1997 Buffalo Charlies (21-2-1)
Notes:
For the 2000 season, the OCSL absorbed the remaining teams from the Ottawa Regional Softball League (ORSL), which folded after the 1999 season. These teams, all from the Regionals C division, formed the first permanent C division in the OCSL.
Prior to that, in 1997 & 1998 the OCSL had what was called a B Tier 2 division which lasted two seasons.
In 2000, the Bulldog Pub recorded the only perfect season on record in the OCSL going 0-24 in the C Division.
OCSL...Softball That Just Doesn't Quit
By Al Holmes (1999).
The Ottawa Conventional League or OCSL was formed in 1979. The main conventional
style league in the Ottawa area through the 70's was the old Mutual Softball League.
After the '78 season however, there was a rift amongst the teams, and a split
developed. 2 teams went one way, forming the Regional Softball League; while
most of the 8 others went on to form what is currently the Ottawa Conventional
Softball League. The Canterbury Yankees (now the Ricoh Yankees), and Sounds
Great Disco, (sorry Mr. Bob Freeman, but you were called "Disco" in those
days), are the 2 original teams still around in some form today. Bob Freeman,
Al Holmes, Barry Kemp, and Marko Sedlar are the last 4 original members.
The first Champion of our Conventional League was the Dan Wolff team, led
by Lee Fulcher, Ron Maloff, and star pitcher Bob O'Connor. Dan Wolff defeated
the young Canterbury Yankees 3 games to 2 for the Title. The final game had to
be played on a rented R.A. field, since our playoffs went late, and our
diamond permits had expired. It was September 25th, one of the latest finishing
dates, to this day. The Dan Wolff team was an older team at that time, and
most had played a few years in the Mutual Softball League. Lee Fulcher was
their coach and premier home run bat. He led a group of hard drinking, hard
playing veterans to that championship, and continued on in the league for
several years, before suddenly bolting the league, the city, and indeed the
country after a run in with police in the early 80's.
As the Conventional League hit the 80s, the Canterbury Yankees started to
dominate. The Yankees captured their first championship in 1980, beating
the Cavaliers, and their star pitcher Gilles Sabourin, in 4 games. The
final game, like many in the early 80s, was played at old Plouffe Park,
on Preston Street. The following season, 1981, saw the Yankees sign a
star pitcher of their own. Bobby OConnor made a huge impact by immediately
setting a Conventional league record with an amazing 23 wins and only 1
loss. The Canterbury team was shocked in the playoffs however, when the
State Farm team, led by player coach Keith Gauthier, and pitcher Rod Jack
, pulled off a monstrous upset in the semi finals. The Cavaliers then
ruined State Farm's fun, by winning the title in 4 games.
The next 2 years were both Championships for the Canterbury Yankees, as
they rolled to pennants and titles behind Bill Holmes' and Bruce Pikes
power, and Bobby OConnors pitching, defeating the Cavaliers, and
Sounds Great in the finals. 1984 saw the Yankees leave the Conventional
league to form the Ottawa Valley Softball League, which lasted 6 strong
years. Many players in those days, played in both leagues, and some even
tripled their workload, playing in the Regional league as well.
The middle to late 80's were dominated by firstly, Sounds Great, and to
a lesser extent, Draco, (formerly State Farm), and the dying days of
the Cavaliers. In the mid eighties, Sounds Great rode the arm of Lloyd
Conley, who doubled as Yankee pitcher in the Valley league, and power
hitting Steve White, plus player coach Bob Freeman to at least 2 titles.
The Cavaliers managed one more, and the decade ended in 1989, with Don
Spratt becoming the new champions. They were led by, what a surprise,
pitcher Gilles Sabourin, and slugger Pat Phelan, plus the 3 Timlin
brothers. Other notable pitchers and players in the late 80's included
pitcher Bob Menzies, slugger Tony Barrow, and player coach Neil Campbell
, who was about to become a driving force of the highest caliber, for the
whole league. Neil's strong teams included co-pitcher Murray Ages.
1990 saw the Valley League pack it in, and their 3 top teams join, or in
Canterbury Yankees case, rejoin the Conventional League. The Ottawa
Classics, later called Indians, and the Savin Knights came over to
challenge Don Spratt, Premier Property, and the remaining league. The
Classics boasted power hitters Claude Malette and Alex Buchanan, and
pitcher Yves Belanger . They were coached by Marc Lacelle, who quickly
earned a reputation as one who would try every angle to produce a winner.
The Savin Knights were led by power hitting pitcher Bob Holmes, coach
Barry Kemp, and catcher Sandy Thompson.
The Canterbury Yankees picked up where they had left off, winning 5
consecutive championships between 1990 and 1994. Power pitcher Lloyd
Conley, backed by Jim Weir, and an array of homerun hitters including
perennial home run champ Bill Holmes led the onslaught. Other notable
sluggers included Brian Murray, Bruce Davis, Terry Barnes, and newly
acquired Pat Phelan. Al Holmes coached the squad, as he, brother Bill,
and Brian Murray had been around since the 70's.
These titles were not easy however, and the 1990 series between
Canterbury and Premier Property will go down as the closest ever. Not only
did it go the full 5 games, but the last went into 2 extra innings, before
the Yankees prevailed. In the bottom of the 7th alone, Premier had it won
on a sac fly, until little known Leo Grace unloaded "the Throw, nailing
Tony Wilson at the plate, and sending it to extra innings. The 8th inning
miraculously produced another Premier runner being nailed at the plate, as
Brian Murray used his arm to keep the game going. Finally Murray homered in
his at bat, and the title was decided. Every substitute player on each
team was used, and several timeouts were called to switch defensive
players depending on the lefty - righty situation at the plate.
1991 also saw a B division formed for the league, and the Father and Son
Blues were the first winners, behind Pat Poitras' hitting and pitching.
While the Yankees were knocking off the Classics-Indians in the A finals
the next few years, the B division was forming a powerhouse of its own.
The Premier Property team was now arguably the strongest B team any league
had seen, and there was in fact, much debate over whether they should
still be an A team.
The nucleus of the Premier team was formed by player-pitcher-coach- Neil
Campbell, and he put together quite a cast of sluggers to back him up. At
various times in the 90's Premier boasted Kyle Easter, Alec Buchanan,
Jeff Meleras, Steve Tsonos, and of course Greg Johnson, who produced
countless Home Run and RBI titles. Mike Napper, Phil Bolger, Rick
Marcotte, Mike Levasseur, and Glen Brimacombe also made huge
contributions. They produced no less than 4 championships during the 90's.
1995 finally saw the end of the Canterbury Yankees long run, (13
consecutive championships when the Valley league is included). The Savin
Knights became the new A champs, knocking the Yankees off 16-14 in the
final game. The Savin stars were pitcher and slugger Bob Holmes, coach
Barry Kemp, star pitcher Mike Bougie, and shortstop Jeff Gill. Mike
Bougie was league M.V.P., Jeff Gill the playoff M.V.P. and Bob Holmes the
Home run and RBI champ. 1996 proved this was no fluke as Savin captured
the title again, this time over a tough Marc Sports team. Bob Holmes and
Greg Johnson were the A and B most valuable players, as Savin and Premier
each won back to back.
In 1997, the league went to 3 divisions, and in the A, Marc Sports,
led by coach Alain Brisson, catcher Luc Prudhomme, and pitcher Andre
Cadieux, won the Conventional Cup in 4 games. The B division was won by
the Blues, with Pat Poitras, aided by Matt Hendricks and Steve Bisson,
and coached by Mike McElligott, proved unbeatable in the playoffs, even
for Premier Property. The third division was won by Buffalo Charlies,
coached by Pierre Marquis, and led by M.V.P. Mike Wiener, and fellow
power hitters, Doug Howe, John Wiener, Pierre Bernier, and Sheldon
Cuff. Dale Wilson, Rod Tulk, and Rob Evelyn also contributed to the high
power offence.
1998 saw Marc Sports continue to dominate the A division. Andre Cadieux
continued his ageless performance on the mound, and Frank Dicaire, Luc
Prudhomme, Paul Plouffe, and playoff M.V.P. Serge Carpentier pounded out
a barrage of homers to produce the championship season. The B division was
won by Whispers Braves, who rolled to 9 straight victories in the playoffs
behind pitcher Andrew Posthumus and power men Paul Posthumus and Ian
Stevenson. Montgomery Legion captured the third division, with Jeff Foley
pitching, Peter Habel coaching and playing, and Mike Ringuette driving
home the runs.
Last years 1999 season saw all teams back into the pot, as only one
division was needed. The Canterbury Yankees and Ricoh (formerly Savin
Knights), combined forces, and did indeed win the pennant and the
championship. The final was an exciting 5 games, with Bob Holmes finally
out dueling Pat Poitras in the deciding game. Christian Despres pitched 2
big games for the Ricoh Yankees, and playoff M.V.P. Robin Roberts and of
course, the always-reliable Bob Holmes provided the offence needed for the
title. With dual coaches Barry Kemp and Al Holmes, the task became finding
enough players to field a team, but it was a success in the end.
Looking back on our colourful history, it should be noted that not only
teams and players have changed somewhat, but also the parks. In the early
days, late 70's and early 80s, no Conventional league park's had fences.
Home runs were difficult to hit as the outfielders played back as far as
they wanted. The old ball field (if you can call it that), at Ledbury was
a regular park of the league, as was Albion Gardens on Walkley Road.
Neither park had lights or fences, and were not in good shape. Also used
regularly were Plouffe Park on Preston Street, and Angliesse Square in
Vanier. Angliesse was particularly dangerous as the outfielders ran into
outfielders from the other game, and left fielders on one diamond had to
cross a paved path and crash into a brick building if they wanted to make
the play.
Brewer Park was used in the 80's but had 3 fields without fences at that
time. Once again, outfielders ran into each other regularly. It was not
until 1990 that Brewer was redone into the current 2-diamond setup. The
league acquired Hampton Park when the Valley League joined in 1990 as well,
and Carlington Park has only been used sparingly over the years. Looking
back at the Ledbury field, the memory of games stopped as the police
chased various criminals through the park come to mind. Also Britannia park
, used in the early 80's, brings back memories of 2 gangs occupying the
field, and refusing to move for our league. When their fight finally
moved back into the streets, the conventional game went on. it was not
uncommon at the Albion and Britannia games for the players to drive their
cars right through the field and park beside the diamond. At those parks,
you couldn't do any more damage, and you needed to see your car, as the
neighborhood left something to be desired.
Looking back at the teams that have spent the most years in the OCSL, we
obviously start with Sounds Great and Canterbury, who are still around this
day. Canterbury amalgamated with Ricoh of course, and it should be noted the
Savin-Ricoh team has been around for 10 years before the merger, and this does
not include many years in the Valley league. Premier Property, who finally gave
up the ghost this year, and the Blues, who did so 2 years ago, also deserve
special mention as long running OCSL clubs. The Gators, with Al Rutherford
running the show under various names have been around quite some time, and
Whispers Braves, with the same nucleus, have been around for many, many years.
In the early days of the league, the Cavaliers and State Farm-Draco were
staples that returned year after year, and the Roadrunners put plenty of time
in themselves. The shortest run of any OCSL team came in 1981 when Arvisais
Boutique entered the league, lost their first 7 games, quit the 8th after only
4 innings, and were never seen again. They were never officially ousted, just
disappeared into the night. The most troubled team ever was the old Bronson
Pizza-Ottawa Central team. In 2 short years they managed 2 bench clearing brawls
, 7 suspensions, 37 losses, countless bounced chouse, and several defaults.
Their lineup depended on who was out on parole at the time, and who was sober
enough to show up. Their manager, Mike Tetrault, once chase 2 opponents across
both the field and the parking lot, with a bat in hand, and full intent to
use it.
Home Runs being the glory thing they are, the unofficial A division
record stands at 19 by Bob Holmes, but several players either challenged in
recent years, or actually held the record earlier. Included in this group were
Bill Holmes, Paul Posthumus, Kevin Gadde, Terry Barnes, Brian Murray, Robin
Roberts, Jeff Gill, Martin Thisdale, and Luc Prud'homme. The old days didn't
produce as high numbers, as the fields had no fences, and outfielders played
ridiculously deep.
Presidents have changed several times over the years, but Neil Campbell,
Al Holmes, Ron Sorrell, and Keith Gauthier probably put in the most time. Glen
Mack, Marc Lacelle, Dwayne Mosely, Al Rutherford, and of course Sheldon Cuff have also done
the job. Oldest players to have played, at least that come to mind would
include Russ Belair, Bobby OConnor, Garth Garland, Murray Ages and Andre Cadieux. No
surprise most are pitchers, and even Lloyd Conley can claim pitching well into
his fifties.
Finally, the league itself has outlasted almost all other sports leagues,
keeping the name the same. 2007 will be our 29th year under Ottawa Conventional
Softball League, and it has proved to be a league we can all be proud of. The
players, the parks, the coaches, and the spectators are all part of OCSL
history, and we are not done yet. The OCSL...Softball that just doesn't
quit!!
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