Greater Brisbane League
Encyclopedia
The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league (GB3) is the largest baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...

 in the Australian state of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as two Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

 teams. These are from age groups Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...

 (U12) through to seniors. It is run by the governing body of Baseball Queensland
Baseball Queensland
Baseball Queensland is the governing body of baseball within Queensland. Baseball Queensland is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. It is located in Milton, Queensland and run by chief executive officer Col Dick....

.

To participate in the Greater Brisbane Major League, clubs must meet certain criteria set by Baseball Queensland. Generally the hardest criteria for clubs to meet is to field a team in the junior age levels U14's, U16's and U20's. When this criterion is not met, senior teams may only compete in the South Queensland Baseball League or Pacific League competition.

The GBL consists of six senior division teams from Major/Pacific League A and B through to South Queensland League A-C and a separate Masters competition. Juniors consist of an U20 competition, division one and two U16 and a division one and two U14 competitions. U8, U10 and U12 competitions are run by their respective regions and are non-divisional.

History

The Greater Brisbane League was originally known as the Queensland Baseball Association fixtures, which began in 1946 when six teams entered the competition playing primarily at New Farm Park, Kalinga Park, Langlands Park
Langlands Park
Langlands Park is a sporting venue in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, close to Stones Corner. It is the home ground of the Easts Tigers, a rugby league team that competes in the Queensland Cup.-History:...

, Perry Park
Perry Park, Brisbane
Perry Park Stadium is a sporting ground located at Enoggera Park in the Brisbane suburb of Bowen Hills.It is known widely as the "spiritual home of association Football" in Queensland....

 and the Brisbane Exhibition Ground
Brisbane Exhibition Ground
The Brisbane Exhibition Ground , is a showground established in Brisbane during 1875 especially for Ekka . The Exhibition ground is owned and operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland...

. Uniforms were made out of surplus army uniforms and teams made up of many American ex-pat soldiers from World War II and A-Grade cricketers to keep game fit during the off-season.

Format


Level

League(s)/Division(s)

1

Queensland Major Baseball League

6 clubs

Pacific Baseball League

7 clubs

2

Queensland Major Baseball League B Grade

6 clubs

Pacific Baseball League B Grade

7 clubs

3

South Queensland Baseball League A Grade

12 clubs

4

South Queensland Baseball League B Grade

7 clubs

5

South Queensland Baseball League C Grade

8 clubs

Over 35

GBL Masters

5 clubs

Teams

Clubs currently in the Greater Brisbane League are:
Division Team Based Field
Southside
Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

Robina Braves* Robina
Robina
Robina may refer to:People* Robina Courtin , Buddhist nun* Robina Higgins , athlete* Robina Muqimyar , athlete* Robina Qureshi, human rights campaigner* Robina Suwol, Children's Environmental Health & Justice Advocate...

Robina Common
Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise Baseball Club
The Surfers Paradise Baseball Club is a baseball club based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League, Gold Coast and Far North Coast competitions. The club was also host of the 2008 Pan Pacific Masters Games.-History:...

Benowa Sir Bruce Small Park
Sir Bruce Small Park
Sir Bruce Small Park is a sporting facility located in Benowa, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia. It's baseball facilities are home to the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club, current premiers of the Greater Brisbane League...

Brisbane South Mt Gravatt Eagles Mackenzie
Mackenzie, Queensland
Mackenzie is a small suburb located in the south-east of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. This is an "out-back" suburb containing no large or small shopping centres. The area is partially covered by undeveloped bushland. Mount Petrie is located in Mackenzie....

Weedon Street
Beenleigh Hawks
Beenleigh Hawks
The Beenleigh & Districts Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane South competition.-History:...

Beenleigh T E Costigan Field
Runcorn Indians
Runcorn Indians
The Indians Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane South competition. It is one of the original clubs in Australia and several clubs have been offshoots of it, including Redlands Baseball Club and the Carina Redsox.The club...

Runcorn
Runcorn, Queensland
Runcorn is a suburb on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, and is about from Brisbane’s central business district. The Jagera Aboriginal people occupied most of the land south of the Brisbane River and Runcorn would have been in the territory of the Chepara clan of Eight Mile Plains, Queensland...

Dew Street
Redlands
Redlands Baseball Club
The Redlands Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane South competition.-History:...

Sheldon
Sheldon, Queensland
Sheldon is a suburb of Redland City, Australia 23 km south-east of the Brisbane CBD.The suburb and surrounds form part of South-East Queensland's largest Koala protection zones and plays a vital part in the preservation of Queensland's Koala population....

John Murray Field
John Murray Field
John Murray Field is home to Redlands Baseball Club in Sheldon, about southeast of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a fully fenced and regulation size field with field level fenced dugouts, 2 bullpens, 2 indoor battery cages with an automated pitching machine, an air-conditioned scorers box...

Brisbane West Ipswich Musketeers
Ipswich Musketeers
The Ipswich Musketeers Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Tivoli, Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane West competition...

Tivoli
Tivoli, Queensland
Tivoli is a suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Tivoli State School is located within the suburb.In 1932 two of the Tivoli rugby league club's players, Hector Gee and Les Heidke were selected to play for the Australian national team.-External links:*...

Church Street
Western Districts Bulldogs Darra
Darra, Queensland
Darra is a Brisbane suburb known for its high migrant population. It is one of the older suburbs and lies about 14 kilometres southwest of Brisbane. The houses are mainly of the Queenslander style built in the 1940s and 1950s. The majority of blocks in Darra are large enough to be subdivided, which...

Atthows Park
Toowoomba Rangers
Toowoomba Rangers
The Toowoomba Rangers Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Toowoomba, Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane West competition...

Toowoomba Commonwealth Oval
Southern Stars Browns Plains
Browns Plains
Browns Plains is a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia.-Description:Browns Plains is generally used as a name for both the Browns Plains suburb and the former estates which all utilise the 4118 Postcode Hillcrest, Forestdale, Regents Park and Heritage Park. Browns Plains has been identified...

Regency Park
Regency Park
Regency Park may refer to:* Regency Park, South Australia - a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia* Regency Park * Regency Park Estate - a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa* Regency Park...

-
Northside
Brisbane North Narangba Demons Narangba Narangba Sport & Recreation Complex
Redcliffe Padres
Redcliffe Padres
The Redcliffe Leagues Padres Baseball Club, also known as Peninsula Padres Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Redcliffe, Queensland that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane North Region competition...

Redcliffe
Redcliffe, Queensland
  Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...

Talobilla Park
Talobilla Park
Talobilla Park is a sporting facility located in the suburb of Kippa-Ring, Queensland in Australia. Sports include baseball, canoeing, dragon boating, football , rugby league and softball. Talobilla Park is also contains a Automated Weather Observing System for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology...

Pine Rivers Rapids
Pine Rivers Rapids
The Pine Rivers Rapids Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Lawnton, Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane North competition....

Bray Park Les Hughes Sporting Complex -
Brisbane Metro All Stars
Hendra All Stars
The All Stars Baseball Club Incorporated is a baseball club located in Hendra, Queensland, Australia, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane Metro competition...

Hendra
Hendra, Queensland
Hendra is a suburb of the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It lies roughly six kilometres north-east of Brisbane central business district.- History :...

Bannister Park
Carina Redsox
Carina Redsox
The Carina Redsox Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Carina, Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and the Brisbane Metro competition...

Carina
Carina, Queensland
Carina is an eastern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia about 7 kilometres from the Central Business District. It adjoins the suburbs of Carindale, Carina Heights, Cannon Hill and Camp Hill....

Foley Field
Foley Field
Foley Field is a baseball stadium in Athens, Georgia. It is the home field of the University of Georgia Bulldogs college baseball team. The stadium holds 3,291 people....

Pine Hills Lightning
Pine Hills Lightning
The Pine Hills Lightning Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane Metropolitan Region competition...

Bunya James Drysdale Reserve
Windsor Royals
Windsor Royals
The Windsor Royals, originally known simply as Windsor baseball club and formerly the Windsor Engineers is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane Metro Baseball competition.-History:...

Newmarket
Newmarket, Queensland
Newmarket is an inner north-western suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located approximately 5 km from the Brisbane central business district and is surrounded by the suburbs of Alderley to the north, Ashgrove to the west, Kelvin Grove to the south, and Wilston to the east...

Holloway Field
Holloway Field
Holloway Field is home to the baseball club, Windsor Royals in Newmarket, Queensland and is regarded as the home of baseball in Brisbane currently.-Background:...


*Robina Braves field only junior teams in the GBL.

Below is a map indicating the locations of all eighteen teams competing in the Greater Brisbane League competition. The Brisbane CBD is represented by the black square. Also note Toowoomba is located off the map to the west:

Commissioners Cup

The Commissioners Cup or Commissioners Shield is an annual, end of year event that usually coincides with the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 break of the season. It is a one off game in Major A, B and C grades between the current Greater Brisbane League leaders of the Northside and the Southside.

Major A standings are on win percentage, whereas Major B and C-Grade standings are on points.

Major League Criteria

The basics to qualifying for Major League criteria, clubs must have a minimum of:
  • 27 senior registered players excluding U18's, in at least the Major A, B and C grades
  • 60 junior registered players
  • One team in each of the Baseball Queensland U14, U16 and U20 competitions; together with a minimum of one team in each of Little League, U8 and U10
  • One level 1 accredited coach to each team: LL, U14, U16, U20 and all senior teams
  • One accredited scorer and umpire for all junior and senior games

Media coverage

The Greater Brisbane League is covered across many media sources from Quest Community Newspapers
Quest Community Newspapers
Quest Community Newspapers is a newspaper company in Stafford, Queensland, Australia. It is owned and operated by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation....

 including the Redcliffe and Bayside Herald, Caboolture Shire Herald, Albert and Logan News, Pine Rivers Press, Northern Times, and the Logan West Leader, as well as many other regional newspapers such as the Hinterland Grapevine, The Sunshine Coast Daily, Gold Coast Bulletin, Benowa Garden News, and the Mudgee Guardian.

Major League results are also covered by the television network 7 and more in depth results are covered by The Sunday Mail
The Sunday Mail (Brisbane)
The Sunday Mail is Brisbane's only Sunday newspaper. The Sunday Mail is published in tabloid format, comprising several sections that can be extracted and read separately.-Publishing:...

and the The Courier Mail.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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