The establishment of Little League Baseball grew from a simple idea. Organizers wanted a structured program in which young boys could play baseball, and they wanted to use the program as an avenue to promote character-building traits that would benefit boys throughout their lives. From its humble beginnings in the late 1930s, Little League Baseball has grown into the largest organized sports program for youth in the world, according to Little League Online, the official website of the Little League organization.
History
Efforts to establish organized baseball programs for preteen children began as early as the 1880s. Youth leagues were formed in New York during this time but they were affiliated with adult teams and never really flourished. The lack of organized programs resulted in children playing baseball in sandlots or in the streets with whatever discarded equipment they could find. In the 1920s, the American Legion established an organized baseball program for teenage boys that is still in existence, and schools in the U.S. began to establish baseball programs. However, there was still no widespread organized program for preteen boys who wanted to play baseball.
Beginnings of Little League
Ideas that would eventually lead to the establishment of Little League baseball first began to surface in 1938 when Carl Stotz, an oil company clerk in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, pursued his desire for an organized baseball program for boys who lived in his hometown. Although he had no sons of his own, Stotz had two young nephews with whom he often played baseball and he wanted them to be able to participate in such a program. To develop his ideas, Stotz recruited other neighborhood children in the summer of 1938, and tried out different field dimensions and different kinds of equipment. No real games were played and the program still had no name.
Date of Establishment
In 1939, Stotz and his wife enlisted the help of family members to further the development of an organized baseball program for young boys. They found sponsors and formed three teams named Lycoming Dairy, Jumbo Pretzel and Lundy Lumber. Stotz and two male relatives served as the team managers. These men, along with their wives and another couple who soon joined the group, made up the first Little League board of directors. Stotz consulted friends and community members and decided the organization should bear the name Little League.
First Little League Game
The first Little League Baseball game was played on June 6, 1939, according to Little League Online. Lundy Lumber won the game, defeating Lycoming Dairy by a score of 23-8. The site of the game was a vacant lot near Bowman Field in Williamsport.
Member Comments