About The Burlington Oldtimers Slo-Pitch League
The Burlington Oldtimers Slo-Pitch League is a slo-pitch league for players 35 years and older, with16 teams and 14 players on each. Teams are selected by our Captains using a draft format, so each year you will be able to meet new members of our community. All games are played twice a week from May to September on three City of Burlington parks. There are two exciting tournaments every year. A mid-season tournament at the end of June and the season finale at the beginning of September.
Celebrating 35+ years of Fun & Fellowship - since 1980...
Now to give you a better idea of what our league is about please read these notes
 (2019) From Todd Parker
With 1 last regular season game to play & a crazy weekend of end of season ball approaching, its time to reflect a little bit.
BOSL is truly an amazing league , the friendships made over 13 years will not be forgotten some of my closest friends have come from playing in this league & many relationships will continue to create life long memories.
13 years playing with 8 spent as a Co-Captain with 3 amazing guys who put up with my all or nothing & sometimes in your face style of play , I say a deep and respectful THANK YOU.
For anyone considering joing this league BOSL is untouched by any , join and create your own life long memories.
1 last season ending run for a championship begins in 3 days ,can we make it 5 jackets and a ride into the sun set!!!!!!
 (2016) From Jim Craig... Open Letter to BOSL
You have no idea what the outpouring of love and support from many, many BOSL family members has meant to me. Having been removed from the League a few years, you begin to think of it as something from your past. This recent health scare has shown me something very different; once a BOSL family member, always a BOSL family member.
The kind words and encouragement I have received from so many of you will never be forgotten by me. It is my hope to attend the September Tournament and try to thank each of you personally.
It is a friendship network like you that has meant so much to me and will definitely speed my recovery.
Again, THANK YOU so much for the kind words (and a special thanks to Mike Porkolab for his words).
Jim Craig
(2015) From Mike Drexler...
BOSL is oldtimers baseball. Its about fun and fellowship. Its about playing with all the draft pics 1 thru 15. Its about joking with your team and competition, on their good plays and picking them up on there bad plays.
Lets all remember we pay to play ball -- if we were that good people would pay us.
There is no i in team.
There is no crying in baseball.
Lets remember this and have a great season and tournament and banquet
(2012) From Allison Scott who allowed us to share everyone... Thank you Allison!
Mike, ...I mentioned to you during the season ending tournament that my family and I are heading back to Nova Scotia to live after 5 years in Burlington. The decision to move was a tough one, but the right one for my family. We are going to miss some things about living in this area, but for me, playing softball with BOSL has been a highlight and I'm going to miss the league.
When we first moved up in 2007 we were quite busy for the first few months getting everyone settled into a new and unfamiliar area. As winter was drawing to an end in winter '08, I saw a league banner on a fence near our home off Appleby Line. I knew I was going to have to get involved in something to keep me busy. I hadn't been involved in any team sports isnce I was a kid. After checking with my wife, I contacted then president Paul Jamieson looking for info about the league. I made it clear in that first email about my playing ability (or lack thereof!). He answered all my questions and encourage me to come out and play. I filled out the self assessment (rated myself a 7) and entered the draft. I don't think Brian and Dennis knew what they were getting into when they drafted me, but somebody was going to get stuck! I asked Brian somewhere through the season if my assessment was ok and he was very diplomatic without directly answering my question. That first season saw me learning more about playing ball than I ever knew from watching.
Season 2 had me playing for Drex and Gilligan for the first of three years in a row. They were just as patient and have a talent for drafting teams that are a good social mix as well as a decent ball team. I kept learning more and had the chance to meet some of the characters that make up this league. I had the honour of playing with Andy Smith that year. It's guys like him that made the experience worthwhile. There are the Bob's (Paton, Grenier, and Feguson) and a whole host of others that have all been fun teammates. I only hope to be able to stand at the age some of these guys are still playing great ball at!
This last year for me I finally felt like I was becoming a better ball player. While I'll never be a great hitter, this year I started to have real fun with it. Todd "made" me play in a couple of positions I never thought I would ever do. It's so much easier to learn these new spots when you have patient guys like Moose and Joe giving you tips. Team Rona didn't have the greatest results on paper, but the team never got down on each other. Losing doesn't seem quite as bad when everyone is still upbeat. With new guys like Pete and Chris around, the league is sure to continue it's path of attracting good people.
So, thanks again Mike for your efforts as President. I know you've put a lot of effort into the league and it shows. For the rest of the board, I sincerely appreciate the time and effort you put into BOSL year after year. It's going to be tough to find a better organized league or a better group of guys.
Regards,
Allison
(2010) From Mark Flood who requested to share this with all of us... Thank you Mark!
I want to share a story with all the BOSL members and their significant others and with anyone who goes on to the website to check out what this league is all about. It has been my pleasure to be a part of this league for 13 seasons come 2010. Most of this time has been as a team captain and I also did a stint on the board as the Social Planner. I have witnessed the support this league has extended to its membership and to the community through various charities. My wife and I have made many good friends within the BOSL and many of these friendships extend well beyond Tuesday and Thursday nights during ball season.
In 2009 I have been directly affected by this support in many different ways. First, in Nov 2008 I lost a job of 25 years with Canada Post and started doing renovations and home repairs. Several people from the league helped me get started in this venture and employed my services and or recommended me to friends / families they knew need work done around their homes. This help has allowed me to kick off a small business that continues to provide me with income. Then in June of 2009 at the mid season tournament, I learned mid game, that my father had passed away. The team we were playing immediately stopped play while I dealt with this news and moved that the game, end right then out of respect to me, my wife and the situation. Moving on to late August of 2009, my wife of 22 years and score keeper of 12 seasons was informed she had Leukemia. Throughout her treatment and her time back at home after the hospital, the out pouring of support by way of help with home care, simple visitations, providing meals and support to me and my family was incredible. Unfortunately not all stories have fairy tale endings and in this case Mary Jane passed away on Dec 14th of 2009 which happened to be my birthday and 9 days away from her birthday.
Her last wishes included a request to simply have a memorial in a pub setting as she always enjoyed socializing in this environment with friends and family and wanted to be remembered in this manner. The number of those from the BOSL who attend this event on Dec 19th was amazing. Over the 5 to 6 hours at least 250 people made their way to Ned Devine's in Milton. Many of were close friends we have made over the 12 years in the BOSL, but many were simply members of the league that knew Mary Jane as that loud, competitive, cheering sometimes screaming score keeper they saw every Tuesday and Thursday and at tournaments during baseball season. In 12 full seasons Mary Jane probably only missed 15 to 20 games, many of these were this year, due to her illness. She loved this league as much as I do. She always took full control of my team's score sheet and took pride in the neatness she insisted on. Mary Jane was always a social director at QB's after games and at the many parties we held in which the majority of attendees were friends and teammates from the BOSL.
Her other request was instead of flowers or donations to charities, she had me open a trust account in the name of her daughter. The BOSL board supported her request and many individual members and complete teams from the league also honoured Mary Jane's wishes by giving to this trust fund. Since her passing, the continued support for me and my daughter from members of the BOSL has been wonderful. This league has always preached that they are about competition but that fun and fellowship are the most important aspects of the league. Well I can say that they practice what they preach. Mary Jane and I have always approached each season with a competitive spirit and she always was anxious to see who we drafted from year to year. She always wanted to make sure we had a team that played and partied hard and had at least 1 or 2 players that could "run like the wind". She loved having a team that other wives supported and we always made sure this was taken care of so she could be with friends and keep score at the same time.
So hats off to the BOSL, I know the season of 2010 for me, will be bitter sweet and there will be a big emptiness for me at each game. I also know the support I will get from the league and teammates will help me to continue to move forward in my day to day life. Mary Jane would be proud to see how the league honoured her passing and continues to support her daughter and her husband who she always said was the "best damn pitcher in the best ball league ever".
Thank you everyone,
Sincerely, Mark Flood
BOSL would like to thank Andrea Latendresse for the photography used throughout our website. All photos are property of BOSL and should not be reused without permission. All rights reserved
SAFETY
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