The Rockingham County Baseball League serving western Virginia has been in operation for 87 years. This historic summer baseball league continues to provide quality amateur baseball throughout the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The RCBL is recognized as the second oldest, continuous running baseball league in the country – second only to Major League Baseball. The Rockingham County Baseball League was founded in 1924, and has included teams from across Rockingham County, Virginia, and up and down the Shenandoah Valley. The league currently boasts seven member ball clubs including Bridgewater, Broadway, Clover Hill, Elkton, Montezuma, New Market, and Stuarts Draft.
Please continue following the RCBL and all up-to-date action on this web site.
The Rockingham County Baseball League often is referred to as “old school,” “classic” or “pure” baseball as a result of being a wood bat league since 1999.
During the 2011 season two initiatives will materialize for the RCBL. First, the RCBL Museum is open at 205 South Main Street, Bridgewater, VA. Second, a charter class of inductees will be announced for induction into a new RCBL Hall of Fame. The Museum has been chartered as a non-profit private foundation and can accept contributions of both cash and memorabilia.
Picture a championship game between the top two teams in the league; where close to 1000 county residents attend. The scene would remind you of the closing moments from the movie, “Field of Dreams.” You see sets of headlights, one by one, making their way to old “Buck Bowman Park.” That, my friends, is just one of seven areas that love their baseball! Historically, the RCBL has fielded many teams throughout the valley; from other small town communities such as Linville, Fishersville, Briery Branch, Grottoes, Twin County, Harrisonburg, Dayton, Weyers Cave, Spring Creek, Waynesboro, Keezletown, Mt. Crawford, and Harriston.
RCBL players range from high school future stars, current college players, and released minor and major league participants. Teams are managed independently and most governed by boards of directors. Each team is represented as a part of the RCBL’s board of directors. Collectively, they administer to the management of the league.
In league history, the Bridgewater franchise owns the record for both pennants (20) and series titles (16 - earliest was 1927 and most recent was 1999). Clover Hill, with 14, has the second most series titles and ranks just four ahead of Linville (10) and five ahead of Grottoes (9). Linville, with 14, ranks second in pennants, while the Bucks are third with 13.
From 1984 to 1996, Bridgewater owned the RCBL. The Reds won the pennant each year, except in 1987 when Linville took the title in 7 games. After 1987, the Reds captured nine series wins - including eight straight from 1988-95. Grottoes snapped the Reds' series streak in 1996, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the finals.
After the Reds' remarkable run, the league saw a great deal of parity - with seven different teams winning pennants from 1997 through 2010 and eight separate teams claiming series titles over the same stretch.
In recent history, the Clover Hill Bucks have been the team on a tear, having won the last 6 out of 7 series championships, and 5 out of 7 pennants.
Sadly, the 2008 season saw the RCBL say farewell to its former commissioner, officer, and RCBL historian Karl Olschofka, who passed away, having been involved in all capacities of the RCBL for over 50 years. Karl captured the essence of the RCBL, and in his honor, the League named its championship trophy the “Karl Olschofka Championship Trophy”. (Click here to read more about Karl).
In 2009, the league saw its popularity grow with an increased web presence, www.rcblonline.com, which, in turn, improved the fan base. As a repeat of the 2009 championship series, in 2010 the Clover Hill Bucks again won the title defeating the Stuarts Draft Diamondback in seven games, 4 – 3.
Donald L. Lemish
Commisioner
