Product Description

The remarkable story of Little League Baseball, from the first diamond in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the playing fields of Venezuela, Japan, and Poland.

"It's funny: after 40 years, I can't remember much else about a lot of the boys I grew up with, but if you give me one of their names, I can usually remember what Little League team he played on."

—Dave Barry.

On any given spring evening, 360,000 children around the world can be found on the dusty mounds and grassy fields of a Little League field. With more than four million people playing or volunteering in Little League games every year, Little League is the institutional rite of passage into the quintessential American pastime.

Little League Baseball began in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1938, when Carl Stotz, an oil company clerk, agreed to a game of catch with his young nephews-who were too young to play organized baseball. He recalled how it felt to be left out, and promised to think of a way for the boys to have a league of their own. With the help of neighbors George and Bert Bebble, Stotz created a three-team league. After being turned down by fifty-six businesses, Carl finally convinced a lumber company, a dairy, and a pretzel maker to sponsor the teams, for $30 each. On June 6, 1939, the first Little League Baseball game was played at Park Point in Williamsport.

Play Ball! charts Little League's history from the earliest days and shows how, in many respects, its history parallels America's history: isolation in the beginning; rapid expansion; a civil war of sorts, followed by reconstruction; struggles over civil rights and gender equity; and foreign entanglements. A microcosm of American society, Little League reflects, and is affected by, cultural, political and historical trends. Today, Little League is played on 12,000 fields in every U.S. state and in 103 other countries on six continents. Little League also sanctions play in softball, Tee Ball, and baseball for disabled children-called the Challenger Division. The Little League Baseball World Series, played annually in Williamsport, is watched by crowds of 40,000 each year in person, and by more than ten million on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

The authors were given full access to the Little League Baseball archives and have created a fully illustrated and comprehensive history. Play Ball! contains appendixes including winners of all Little League Baseball and Softball World Series, a year-by-year history of Little League, countries in Little League, and lists of some of the famous people who played the game as children, including Kevin Costner, Mark McGwire, and George W. Bush.

Play Ball! will interest parents, former players and coaches, fans of Little League Baseball, general baseball enthusiasts, and anyone who has ever picked up a ball and bat.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #906975 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From Library Journal
Do you know that George W. was a Little Leaguer? More to the point, humorist Dave Barry is also a graduate of Little League, and he writes an amusing introduction to a solid book about this American institution. Little League has now been around for more than half a century, and this new history fills a gap in library collections that often focus solely on major league baseball history. This well-illustrated, popularly written account should be on the shelves of every library that serves a community with a Little League team.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Lance Van Auken was a Little League player from seven to eighteen. Since 1980, he has served as a Little League volunteer in such capacities as umpire, manager, coach, and league vice president. A sportswriter for eleven years, he is presently employed by Little League Baseball as director of media relations and communications, but he still volunteers as a Little League umpire.

Robin Van Auken is an editor/writer for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette and owner of The Omnibus, a literary agency. She too has served as a Little League volunteer sponsor, team mom, vice president, and concession-stand worker.

Customer Reviews

For all Little League fans
Play Ball!: The Story Of Little League Baseball is a comprehensive and profusely illustrated history of a quintessentially American approach to organized recreation for children. Beginning with its debut in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1939 when Carl Stotz, once having agreed to a game of catch with his nephews who were to young to play organized baseball ended up a year later with having created company a business community sponsored, three-team league baseball team for kids. The first official Little League game was played at Park Point in Williamsport on June 6, 1939, launching an organized team sport phenomenon that continues down to the present day. Play Ball! discusses such historically relevant issues as racial and gender equity (devoting an entire chapter to the struggle for girls to participate in the organization) and Carl Stotz split with Little League that still divides the community of Williamsport where it all began. The informative text is enhanced with appendices that include the winners of all Little League Baseball and Softball World Series; a year-by-year history of Little League; countries in Little League; as well as lists and pictures of some of the famous people who played the game as children. Play Ball! is very highly recommended and informative reading for all Little League fans!