KITCHENER — Following 47 often wobbly, sometimes magnificent seasons, one of North America's premier men's fastball teams has folded.

And this time, it really could be the end of the line for the Kitchener Hallman Twins.

"This is it. It's nothing more than I've just had enough," longtime Twins sponsor Jim Hallman told The Record on Monday.

"I've been doing this for 15 years. That's longer than a lot of guys."

Hallman's Twins, one of the oldest elite men's fastball teams on the continent, collected back-to-back International Softball Congress world championships in 2008 and 2009 and three senior Canadian titles along the way.

Their current incarnation, a tournament-only team, was an assembly of all-world talent from Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, across Canada and featured two locals, Kitchener's Ryan French and Brandon Horn of Waterloo, winner of a Pan American Games gold medal as a member of Team Canada earlier this year.

The Twins ceased operations in 2011 but didn't miss a season, crawling out of the ashes just eight months later after Hallman decided to take a run at a third straight Canadian title.

The Twins' demise after nearly five decades isn't a shocker.

The game has been under siege for years. One by one, most of fastball's big-budget U.S. outfits, like the Tampa Bay Smokers, Wisconsin's County Materials and The Farm Tavern have folded, citing financial hardship.

Hallman, a prominent local entrepreneur and philanthropist, said he will continue to promote the game with his ongoing sponsorship of the Kitchener Cubs, a highly-competitive, but low-budget team.

All-star squads like the Twins often feature annual budgets of about $150,000, a far cry from the modest $4,000 the team needed to compete annually two and three decades ago when its players weren't paid.

Hallman said Twins stars like outfielder Ryan Wolfe and infielder Ian Fehrman have decided to retire.

The club's remaining players "won't have any problem finding new teams," he said.

This summer, the Twins were bounced out early from the proceedings at the ISC world tournament in South Bend, Ind., by their low-rent brothers no less, the Kitchener Cubs.

The Twins finished second at the ISC worlds last year in Kitchener.

Hallman also said he will continue to work to bring fastball tournaments to Kitchener — including national women's and men's and age-group championships.

He has not ruled out making another pitch for the ISC world tournament, previously held in Kitchener in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2014.

"We have a great diamond here at Peter Hallman Ball Yard. And I don't think it is used enough," he said.

Through the years, the Twins have featured a bounty of world-class players. Stars like Todd Martin, Craig Crawford, Chris Jones, Adam Smith, Jody Eidt, Brian Paton, and most recently, Freddie Terkelsen, Zenon Winters and Jeremy Manley have all worn Twins jerseys.

The team, formerly known as the Waterloo Twins and before that, the Waterloo CHYM'rs, has orchestrated eleventh-hour stays of execution before, merging with the Fingal '99ers, the Sebringville Sting and the Orillia Riversharks over the years.

But Hallman said an era has come to an end.

"We had a great run with the Twins and a lot of fun doing it. But I think it's time to move on."

Foul tip: Bruce Bierman, of Ayr, a longtime umpire at local, provincial, national and international levels, will be enshrined in Softball Canada's hall of fame. The ceremony takes place at the federation's annual general meeting this November in Winnipeg.