History of the AKBA
OBA Champions
AKBA has a long history of fielding competitive teams at the provincial level
Provincial Champions
Provincial Finalists
AKBA Presidents
History of the AKBA
The Aurora King Baseball Association (AKBA) was formed as an amalgamation of the Aurora Minor Baseball Association (AMBA) and the King Township Baseball Association (KTBA) just prior to the 2015 season. Both AMBA and KTBA had long and storied histories in their respective communities, but both also relied on alliances and affiliations with outside organizations from time to time.
After a four-year search for organizations to partner up with, in 2014 the KTBA approached the AMBA to play an interlocked house league season. The AMBA agreed and the venture proved to be very successful for all parties involved. Soon after the season ended, discussions began around formalizing the relationship and merging the two organizations. The discussions continued through the winter of 2015 and in February the Aurora King Baseball Association (AKBA) was formed. The goal of the merger was to enhance the baseball programs available to the residents of both municipalities by increasing registration and access to facilities, while reducing costs and overhead.
The new AKBA was an instant success, with a combined enrollment of 700 players for its first season. Thanks in part to the renewed success of the Toronto Blue Jays, baseball was alive and well in Aurora/King. The new program offered House League baseball from Tball / Blastball to Junior level and Select and Rep baseball from Senior Rookie to Junior level.
Prior to the amalgamation, AMBA’s rep teams were known as the Aurora Jays and KTBA’s program was called the Cobras. For the 2015 season, while the new Board of Directors decided on a nickname for the combined competitive program, the 2015 AKBA Rep program was called the Jays and the AKBA Select program was called the Cobras. This continued for just one season, before it was decided that all competitive programs would play using the Jays name.
Competitive program logos used post-amalgamation are seen here:
History of the AMBA
Documentation shows that the Town of Aurora has had baseball in the community as far back as 1900. Aurora played in a group that included teams from Newmarket, Aurora, Collingwood, Barrie and two teams from Toronto.
Records also reveal that baseball was alive and well in Aurora in the 1950’s as Aurora was the finalist in the 1957 Bantam B Provincial Championships.
As the popularity of softball grew in the 70s, the roots of the AMBA took hold when a softball organization was formalized in 1979, which was incorporated eight years later on May 8th, 1987 under the name Aurora Minor Softball Association (AMSA).
Concurrent with the baseball fervor created by the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series championships in the early 1990’s, within five year of its incorporation as a softball association, the AMSA started to offer baseball programs as well, prompting a change in the Association’s operating name in October 1992 to the Aurora Minor Ball Association (AMBA). Perhaps not surprisingly, the AMBA’s rep teams became known as the Jays.
Despite this operating name change, the Association was still incorporated as Aurora Minor Softball Association and that remained true throughout the existence of the Association.
In the years leading up to 2000, the AMBA affiliated with the following organizations:
- Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) - for rep baseball activities (Jays)
- Ontario Amateur Softball Association (OASA) - for rep softball activities
- Tri-Township Softball Association
- Other local community ball associations
In the early 2000’s, the Board changed the operating name of the AMBA to the Aurora Baseball Association, however it was still commonly still referred to as AMBA.
There is a loss of records for the period of time between the early 2000’s through 2014. If you have any information to add, please contact us.
In 2014, after playing in an interlock HL program for a season, Aurora Minor Softball Association and King Township Baseball Association officially amalgamated to form the Aurora King Baseball Association and incorporated February 3, 2015.
Prior to the amalgamation, Aurora had several logos for their competitive program:
![[2007] to 2010](https://www.akba.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2786/2022/04/AMBA-2007-10.png "AMBA 2007-10")
History of the KTBA
In the 1960’s the Schomberg Minor Softball Association (SMSA) was a hub of baseball activity in the northern end of King Township. It was a self-sustaining organization with hundreds of players registered each year to play organized youth softball. Competition caused by alternative summer activities began to erode the participation numbers in the 1980’s and in the 1990’s the SMSA had established a relationship with the Tottenham Minor Softball Association (TMSA) to interlock for youth softball games from Tball to Bantam level.
In the meantime, the Nobleton Baseball Association (NBA) had formed in the 1980’s, inspired by the birth and popularity of the Toronto Blue Jays joining the American League in 1977. The NBA continued to grow through the 1990’s with the youth playing the traditional game of baseball. In order to have a viable number of teams to play games against, the NBA joined the York Simcoe Interlock Baseball Association (YSBA) which featured teams from Newmarket, Aurora, Bradford and Georgina Township from levels Junior Rookie through to Junior.
King City did not have its own baseball association. Instead, players from King City typically enrolled with Vaughan, Aurora, Newmarket, Bolton or other neighbouring baseball associations.
In 2001, the SMSA and the NBA decided to merge and formed the King Township Baseball Association (KTBA) – composed of players and executive members from Schomberg and Nobleton. In the initial year a total of 5 players registered from King City with the fledgling KTBA. Given its softball roots the KTBA continued to offer both softball and baseball options for boys and girls from T Ball through to Midget level. The KTBA interlocked with the YSBA for baseball and the TMSA for the softball program.