Atlantic Siding & Roofing Juniors – 1976 Junior Baseball National Champions

• Type: Team
• Sport(s): Baseball
• Year: 2024

The core members of this team, both coaches and players, had been together for about six years prior to 1976, so they were a tight-knit group. They had participated in the Nova Scotia Baseball Central region in bantam, midget and junior age groups, and represented the region in Provincial elimination tournaments and championships.

In 1976, this Halifax junior team, sponsored by Atlantic Siding and Roofing, were hosts for the NS provincial elimination tournament with the winner advancing to the national championships. The Halifax team swept the elimination tournament series, defeating teams from Dartmouth, Sydney and Liverpool, winning the right to represent Nova Scotia at the nationals in Moncton, New Brunswick in August 1976.

The Halifax Juniors, although a quality team, were given little chance of winning all the marbles in Moncton.

After qualifying for the semi-finals, Nova Scotia faced the powerful Ontario team. The outcome was a convincing 8-2 victory which sent them to the final game, where they were pitted against an undefeated Alberta squad. Again, the outcome was another convincing win :11-1 over Alberta. The Nova Scotia team – the Atlantic Juniors – were then crowned Canadian Junior Baseball Champions – the first and only time for a Nova Scotia Junior baseball team in 48 years!

As a footnote, it is interesting just how ‘dominant’ this team was. They outscored the opposition by a margin of 41-to-21 runs, the only Maritime based team to do so …

that folks … was 41 runs scored in five games!