Ellington Wiffle Ball League 

Brief History of the EWBL​

A Brief History of the Ellington Wiffle Ball League

 

Origins

Back in 1999 a group of friends use to gather at the Lally’s and Allegra’s house after school to play basketball, and football, and throw things in the road. One day the group played Wiffle Ball in the Lally’s front yard. They really enjoyed the game and started to create rules and dimensions for the game. By the end of 1999 Wiffle Ball fever had taken the group over and it became a regular event in the neighborhood. In 2003 the group decided to take the game to a new level and started a Wiffle Ball League. At first the league was called the EWL, but a conflict with another in town league we changed the name to the EWBL. The website broke out in 2003 and Wiffleball was taken to a new level.

 

Renovations at Lally Field

In 2003 we played two split seasons. We created two teams (Team Girth and Team Gators) and played a full regular season schedule. After completion of the regular season we had playoffs in which team Girth (Adam, Ant, Art, Tim) won the championship. We then made major renovations to Lally Field which included cutting down trees, building a pitching mount, etc. We then played a more open season by making teams each time we got there.

 

Move to EMS

At the end of the 2003 season the league has grown too big for Lally field. Lally Field was ideal for 3 on 3 play but now games were seeing 5 players a team and a move to a larger facility seemed necessary. Lally Field was closed down in 2004 but it will always be remembered for the beginnings of the Ellington Wiffle Ball League

 

The New Format

With more participation in the league we came up with a new way of game play. Teams would be chosen each time we had a game. At first we picked teams and then by 2005/2006 we created a hit-off system to determine teams. We also introduced the bat toss to determine who would be home and away. All stats and records began to be taken individually as players were on different teams each game.

 

2004 Season

The 2004 season was the best EWBL season many would argue. This season saw the leagues only other playoff competition other then 2003, and a series of games played in Old Lyme. In 2004 the EWBL played a full schedule and then played in a 7 game playoff series. The series was won by the Blue Team, and the MVP of the series was John Allegra who put together one of the most dominant performances over the six game series. The goat of the series was Phil Maychek who blew a four run lead in game two in which the grey team never recovered. In 2004 the EWBL held its only Mid-Season Bash at Autumn Chase. Uncooked burgers and a 1 on 1 championship for Kiel Miller was the highlights

 

18 Innings of Magic

In the 2005 season the most memorable game ever played in EWBL history took place. On a regular afternoon at Ellington High School a normal Wiffle ball game turned crazy as the game went to a league record 18 innings. The game was won by a clutch double off the wall by John Allegra. The game will always be the most remembered game in EWBL History.

 

2006 Season – Most Games Played

In 2006 we played a league high 85 games in which the league absolutely thrived throughout the summer. Many new players joined the league and numbers were not the problem what so ever. The future of the EWBL looked promising.

 

League Collapse

After 2006 the league participation and interest began to dwindle as we played 40 games in 2007 and only about 25 game in 2008. The EWBL did not play in 2009 and 2010 and many thought the league was dead forever.

 

Revival – The 2011 Season

After much talk in the winter of 2011 the original group of wiffler’s made one final push to try to bring back the league. In 2011 the EWBL came back and played almost 40 games from April-June. The EWBL saw many original members along with some new players and numbers again were up in the league. Many inside the EWBL organization are hoping with 2011’s success that the season in 2012 can be even stronger!

 

2012-2014

The Ellington Wiffle Ball League has been back from the dead and we continue to play games but not nearly as much as we use to. As many members move into their late 20’s the opportunities to play may be less, but the group still gets together to play games 3-4 times a season. The league appears to be at a crossroads, and a merger with the town may bring new life to the league! In 2014 the EWBL boys took on the new Ellington Wiffle Ball League and defeated them 2 games to 0 at Danny Hayes’s brand new Fenway Wiffle Park!

 

 

Core Members (Still playing today)

Erick Knickerbocker*

Eric Senger*

Anthony Allegra*

John Allegra*

Art Allegra*

Sebastian Lovallo

Mike McHugh

Adam Zylberman*

Jason Zylberman

 

*Original Members