London Majors
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About the Majors
Founded in 1925, the London Majors are an amateur baseball team that competes in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), the top summer league in Canada since 1919. They play their home games at Labatt Memorial Park, the oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world. Going under different names for their first 50 seasons, London’s Intercounty entry won 11 league championships. The team adopted the Majors nickname for good in 1975.
That same year, the Majors won their 12th (and most recent) league title, led by former major league pitcher Mike Kilkenny and manager Roy McKay. In 1984 and 1985, the team was headlined by Hall-of-Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins, who had recently retired from the MLB.
In 2004, under new ownership (Scott Dart), the Majors reached their first Intercounty final since 1982, losing to the Guelph Royals. In 2005, Roop Chanderdat was brought in as co-owner and general manager. In 2006, he also took over managing duties. Under Chanderdat, the Majors have reached the IBL final three times, most recently in 2014. The team has also won the pennant race (first place in regular season) in 2008 and 2016.
In 2017, Chanderdat became the franchise’s winningest manager, surpassing McKay’s previous record of 257 wins. In 2019, he passed the 300-win milestone. That same season, long-time Major and fan-favourite Cleveland Brownlee, the franchise’s home run leader, reached the 100 home-run mark.
The London Majors will play a 42-game schedule in 2024. Friday night home games remain the highlight, as well as Father’s Day and Canada Day festivities. Meanwhile, the Chatham-Kent Barnstomers make their IBL debut.