NWBL History

Some History of the Adult NWBL (Northwest Washington Baseball League)

Identity of teams and some of the evolution

The 2012 NWBL members were:

• The Brewers (mgr. Daniel Vander  Kooi after 2 years led by Dan Altman)
• The  Cardinals (mgr. B.J. Hickok after being the Jacknuts in ’11 and the Derek Zollner and Mike Treadway-led Rangers in ’10 – their first season)
• The Colt 45's (with Andrew Leslie at the helm since 2005; they were the Mariners before ’12 and were led by Frank King)
• The Dodgers (mgr. Ian LInterman since ’10 and led by Kurt Miller from ’04-’09 and led by Rik Dalvit ’94-’03 
• The Mudcats (a blend of former Aztecs of Steve Chapman and Bulls of Brad Stone with Chapman now as mgr.) 
• The Pirates (a continuation of Bob Hagedorn-led teams – a couple years each of Cardinals, Orioles, Nationals, and now Pirates since ’11)
• And the Reds (mgr. Brian Grote since ’11 and  led by Scott Jaquess ’08-’10) with 5 5-year players – Andy Swaney, Jason Cossman, Justin Berg, Marc Dryer, and Mike Stubbs. The Red Sox of yesteryear led to the birthing of the Bulls and Reds.

Some of the “players” involved in winning championships in the NWBL and PST

• This league opened in 1994 with 4 teams. Robin Rieck directed the league at that time.
• By 2002 the league consisted of 6 teams. The then named Lynden Cardinals managed by Bob Hagedorn won both the league championship and the postseason tournament championship.
• Over the 2003-2005 stretch the Lynden A’s led by ace pitcher John Olson dominated as league champs in 2003 and as double champs the next 2 years; meanwhile the Bellingham Red Sox managed by OJ (Oliver Jackson) won the 2003 postseason tournament championship.
• 2006 saw the Bellingham Dodgers managed by Kurt Miller win the top prize in league play while the Lynden team now called Orioles of Bob Hagedorn took the tournament top spot. 
• In 2007 the Bellingham Red Sox won the league and the Bellingham Mariners (now the Colt 45's) were the tourney champs.
• For the 2008 season John Rozeboom became the rookie “commish.” Over the 2008-2010 stretch the Lynden Nationals of Bob Hagedorn were double winners in 2008 and 2010, behind the pitching of Juan Hernandez and Justin Steinbach, but the Bellingham Bulls managed by Brad Stone captured the tournament crown in ‘09.
• 2011 saw the Bellingham Jacknuts (the Rangers the year before and Cardinals the next year) of manager B.J. Hickok and ace pitcher Seagult take home both top spot trophies.
• In 2012 the Bellingham Colt 45's (formerly the Mariners) managed by Andrew Leslie won their first league championship. In the PST the 3-year old Brewers battled the Mudcats, a blend of past Aztec and Bull teams before the Brewers behind Travis Brewer, Chris Piper, the Larson brothers, and Vander Kooi became PST champs.