The Campbellville Merchants, who folded in 1968, won 12 Ontario baseball championships and 11 straight Halton County titles from 1956-66, despite representing a town of about 250 people between Milton and Burlington.

It did have a few Burlington connections at times, such as players Jack Price and Earl Cairns.

In 1966-67, Campbellville played Burlington in Halton senior ball and won five of the seven games.

Tony Hall, one-time Post sports editor who died two years ago, held the same position with the Burlington Gazette in 1968 when he wrote of the impact Campbellville baseball had after the announcement of the team's folding.

"Campbellville, with such a small population, was always in the D classification for Ontario playoffs," he wrote. "In the Ontario baseball playoffs, the teams can move up in classifications, but not down. This Campbellville did, with great success, winning two Major A titles, one A, three B and six C crowns -- not bad for a town of 250."

A book, The Village Nine, has been published about the team, and the Milton Canadian Champion's sports editor Steve Leblanc wrote a story about it. An excerpt of Leblanc's article follows, with the full story available at www.miltoncanadianchampion.com/sports/article/201908.

* * *

When one thinks of sports dynasties, the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Celtics and New York Yankees are most likely the names that come to mind.

Not if you're a longtime resident of the former village of Campbellville, however.

While never gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated or making it on TV, the Campbellville Merchants intermediate men's baseball club enjoyed a championship heyday that rivals that of any team -- in any sport, at any level.

Even those responsible for the success still find it hard to believe that during Len Andrews' 16-year run as manager (1952-67), the Villagers captured an astounding 12 Ontario titles -- not to mention claiming the Halton crown 11 times in a row and amassing an overall record of 411-122-16.

"It's near impossible, when you think about it," said Cliff Bill, an outfielder who was part of the original team in '52. "I don't know if you want to use the word magical, but it kind of was. It'll never be done again."

Fans can now re-live those glory days through The Village Nine, a recently-released collection of newspaper articles and photos chronicling the area's most prosperous sporting era.

Collected by a now-departed Andrews, the reports form the bulk of a 518-page book.

"It's brought back an awful lot of fond memories," said Ken Moore, who played the most number of games during the dynasty and assisted Andrews' son-in-law Dan Waterston and granddaughter Katie in completing the project. "My father had played the era before, but there was very little written back then. It almost became the stuff of folklore, and Len wanted to make sure this (era) was remembered. He passed away two years ago, but it's great to see his hopes for this book realized."

The team captivated the village and its surrounding hamlets. Comprised almost entirely of local boys, the Merchants galvanized the village and surrounding hamlets.

"They'd be lined up all around the old ball park," said 60s catcher Don Joyce. "We'd get 1,500 to 2,000 fans out for a Sunday afternoon game."

The Village Nine, $39.95 (hard cover) and $31.98 (soft) is available at amazon.com and lulu.com/lenjune.