Maple Leafs baseball club, with roots going back to 1895, up for sale

The  Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club, which has roots dating back to 1895, has been put up for sale.

"We hope to attract an owner who is gonna keep this legacy going," said Tyrone Crawford, the chief operating officer of the team.

The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) team, based at Toronto's Christie Pits Park, was owned by Jack and Lynne Dominico for the first 40 years of its existence, then solely by Jack after Lynne's death in 2008. 

The current Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team started after a high-level minor-league club of the same name, which started playing in 1896, moved to Louisville, Kentucky, after the 1967 season.

Jack Dominico died in January of 2022. Crawford says he and his team took a year and a half after Dominico's death to finally came "to a point where we felt comfortable putting it up for sale."

The team has been administered by Jack Dominico's estate since his death in January of 2022. Sports marketing firm Cosmos Sports & Entertainment is handling the sale.

"We've received a lot of interest early and we're looking to find the right individual or right group that's going to respect the legacy, keep the team at Christie Pits, keep the free tickets, all those kinds of things," said Cary Kaplan, the president of Cosmos Sports & Entertainment.

The team has played in the Ontario-based IBL since 1969 and won eight league titles.

Former Major League Baseball players Rob and Rich Butler, Paul Spoljaric and Peter Orr are among the team's alumni.

Tim Christie, who told CBC News that he's a big fan of the team, said home games at Christie Pits are important both for the tradition of baseball and for the neighbourhood.

He said he wants the person who takes over the team to "keep it in Toronto and keep it