Bulls Team Pictures
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The 2005 OSSBA Bulls were made up two of the best ICBL teams to ever play in the league. The Burlington Bandits won 3 straight titles from 2001-2003 and played in two other ICBL finals. The Burlington Bulls won ICBL titles in 2004 and 2005 and had three other finals appearances. The Bandits contributed Chris Hayes, Brad Guy, Bryan Blasko, Matt Langford, Brad Johnston, Mike Howden and Cam McKnight. The Bulls answered with Jon Leyland, Jason Hogan, Eric Conlon, Kip Keith, Mike Mousseau, Jeff McNair, Chris Lord and the coaching staff of Mike Masters, Steve Atkinson and James Crawford.
The two teams get together after the 2004 ICBL Finals. The Bulls won in a very tight series and the relationship between the teams would become a strong one as the next season, the Bulls and Bandits would join, add Dave Willitts from Brantford and go onto form one of the best OSBA teams in league history.
2005 was the first season in the OSBA for the Burlington Bulls. This squad went 19-7 in the regular season, which was second only to Richmond Hill. 2005 was a great year seeing the Bulls win the first of their four OSBA Cups and start to establish the team as a threat for years to come.
These 9 players all remained to play for the OSBA Cup in 2005. After losing the first game and having the next weekend rain out, only 9 Bulls could play the last two games. After a dominant win in game 2, the team pulled off a tight win against a very tough Durham Chiefs squad.
2006 saw a big target placed onto the backs of Bulls players seeing as every team in the OSBA was looking to dethrone the champs. The Bulls added Mike Howden from the Burlington Bandits and Kyle Pitman from the Oshawa Talons and Jason Hogan in the offseason and tried to repeat as the league's best. This team finished at 19-6-1 and made it to the OSBA Finals for a second straight year only to get swept by the two-time champion Brooklin Dodgers.
The 2006 OSBA Tournament was another tough test and another great final game against the 2005 tournament champ Durham Chiefs. With MVP performances from Conlon and Hayes and a little help from Mike Shuker, the Bulls went onto win a thrilling 6-5 game and take home their first OSBA Tournament title.
The 2007 edition was arguably one of the best Bulls teams put together. With the addition of Swagers, the team's offence became more potent and having his arm in the pen made an already great pitching staff that much better. Jamie Kozak also came on to put up great numbers both on the mound and at the plate. The team enjoyed success winning a few tournaments and the division title but overall felt like they came up short seeing a second round sweep out of the playoffs.
The 2007 OSBA Tournament held in Barrie was a fun and exciting weekend of baseball, as it always is. Tom Malyk came with to help take a few innings and did a job as the team made it back to finals for the third straight year. The final game was a tight pitching duel but the Whitby/Brooklyn/Ajax/Ontario Stars came out on top. The Bulls would get their revenge in the 2008 final.
Going back to NCBL tournament in Ottawa after a terrible showing in 2006 would be a challenge for this team. This tournament includes some of the toughest and best games in Bulls history. Tournament MVP Andrew Swagers took control of a few games and with clutch hitting coming from everyone in the lineup, the Bulls would not be denied their first NCBL tournament beating the Nepean Brewers.
The 2007 Whitby Invitational tournament was certainly a challenge for all teams seeing as playing temperatures in some games barely reached above freezing. The Bulls were were not tested until a game Ontario Stars club in the semis. With a little help from Jay Woodford, Josh Wasylyk, Jeff King and Tom Malyk, this tournament team was one of the most dominant in recent years. The team went on to beat the Mississauga Stars in the final.
The 2008 Bulls had to try and defend their NCBL Tournament title, and did as again, some of the best baseball played by the team all year was in Nepean. Brian Molloy came to help off the mound and a very rare appearance from ace Jon Leyland propelled the team to back-to-back titles. Kip Keith had an MVP performance overlooked and vowed not to return in 2009. It was a tough final game against the New Lowell Knights but the Bulls held out.
The 2008 Burlington Bulls squad was one of the most dominant in OSBA history. The team went 24-4 in the regular season, win 2 tournaments, the OSBA West division and the OSBA Championship for the second time. With the addition of Jeff King, Kip Keith and the return of Chris Hayes, the 2008 edition looked to be very tough. With the top pitching and defence and again the best offence in the league, the team would go on to the OSBA Championship defeating a very resilient Pickering Pirates team. It lasted all five games but the Bulls would take home the OSBA Cup.
After the 2009 season, and all the numbers were looked at, it's hard not to say that this team was the most dominant Bulls team ever. Including regular season, playoffs and tournaments, the team went 34-4-2. The team also defended it's OSBA crown sweeping the Brooklin Dodgers for their 3rd title.
