Foothills Major Baseball Association
The Foothills Major Baseball Association (FMBA) is a men's baseball league located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It plays games out of Glen Hansen Field which is located at 1401 25 Ave NE Calgary, AB. There are currently 11 teams in the league, whom each play a 22-game schedule prior to playoffs. It runs from early May until the end of August. In 2020, the Calgary Diamondbacks won the FMBA Championship defeating the Calgary White Sox in the final, 2 games to 0. Member Teams. The league currently plays a balanced 22 game schedule. League  History. The league was started in 1979, when Doc Cody and Ron McCartney petitioned the City for a more permanent baseball facility for amateur players over the age of 18. At that time, the three original teams in the league: the Cardinals, Caseys & Odeons played out of Optimist Park before it was decided they needed to do something about the need for more playing space. In true Calgary form, volunteers from the community stepped forward and offered to construct a major league size park on City land. The main sponsor and benefactor was Jim Wilfley, with able assistance from other  sports enthusiasts such as Hank Bassen, Gem-Sod, Alberta Treasury Branch, Coca-Cola, Conmac and others. The park was built on traditional ball park lines with wooden fences, stands and a press box. The project was started in the Fall of 1982 and finished in August 1984. The entire facility was built with donated labor and funding. The league opened for play, debt free, thanks to the dedicated generosity of its sponsors. The first president was Ron McCartney. Glen Hansen took over in 1982. Many people over the years have contributed their volunteer efforts to keep the league going. In  1991, the facility was partially destroyed by a fire set by vandals. The reconstruction work that followed changed the appearance of the park radically as all the wooden fences and structures were removed in favor of vandal-proof facilities. The present facility was reconstructed under the presidency of Ray Brisson with funds from the fire insurance and a generous grant from the Saddledome Foundation.