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RDMBA HistoryA Snapshot Of Our Past
2007 was a memorable year for the Red Deer Minor Baseball Association with our organization coming of age provincially. Four Red Deer teams proved themselves to be the best in the province. Mosquito Competitive (AA), Mosquito Community (A), PeeWee Performance (AAA) and PeeWee Community (A) all won Provincial Championships. Two teams qualified and advanced to the National Championships in Quebec City, the PeeWee Performance (AAA) and Bantam Performance (AAA) teams. The Bantam team placed 4th in the country. If 2007 was a ground breaking year for the organization on the Provincial level, what of the history of RDMBA from which such accomplishments come?
RDMBA's origins are 30+ years old with the organization starting in the 70's under the umbrella of the Alberta Baseball Association (which in 1986 became the current Baseball Alberta). Early on, led by players such as Dwayne Lalor and Rob Hamill, Red Deer sent several teams to the Western Championships which at the time were the pinnacle for teams playing under the Alberta Baseball Association. Some years later, RDMBA changed directions, opting to join Little League where their Senior Division teams were highly successful, winning several league championships. In 1994, following the Toronto Blue Jays winning successive World Series Championships, baseball registration in Red Deer as elsewhere in Canada hit an all time high with some 600 "future hall of famers" overwhelming the facilities available within Red Deer to such an extent that many practices were routinely held in wide open fields with nary a ball diamond in sight!
Organizationally, RDMBA remained affiliated with Little League except at the Midget AAA level, where there was a return to this elite level of the Red Deer program to the Baseball Alberta fold. Additionally, RDMBA hosted the Midget National Championships from 1996 to 2000, with the 1996 host Red Deer Midget AAA Braves winning silver at this national championship. In 2000, RDMBA returned its organization to its original roots, with the entire program affiliating with Baseball Alberta once again.
 Since the return to Baseball Alberta, RDMBA has continued to grow its program, and the success of the program provincially. Many of the players on the PeeWee and Bantam teams who competed at the Nationals in Quebec in 2007 were also members of Red Deer teams who were Provincial Champions at the Mosquito level, while many of these same Bantam players were members of the Bantam team in 2006 which was the 1st Red Deer team to win a Western Championship in over 25 years. With the success of our current crop of Mosquito, PeeWee and Bantam players, the future bodes well for the success and continued growth of a rich history for RDMBA.
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