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In the summer of 1939 Carl Stotz, a Williamsport, Pennsylvania sandpaper plant worker, sought a way for his young nephews to play organized baseball. Although baseball had been played for over 100 years in small towns across America organized games were almost exclusively reserved for teenagers and adults competing on town teams. Together with George and Bert Bebble, Stotz came up with a solution. Their idea was a simple one: a scaled down version of baseball for boys aged eight to twelve.
Stotz approached fifty-six local merchants before obtaining his first sponsor. For thirty dollars the Lycoming Dairy purchased the right to have its name sewn across the first Little League uniforms. A pretzel factory and lumberyard soon followed and the three-team league, with ten boys on each squad, played the inaugural 24-game Little League season. Today, nearly three million boys and girls in 7000 leagues and 90 countries play Little League baseball.
From its inception Little League baseball has been guided by sound leadership, many recruited from America's top businesses. Williamsport remains the Home of Little League and the museum is part of the forty-two acre international Little League headquarters south of Williamsport.
Also in the complex is the Little League Stadium where 40,000 people convene each summer for the Little League World Series. The first Little League World Series was held in 1947 and it became so popular that it was televised on national television by CBS. Today, the final game is televised around the world and is one of the most anticipated and watched sporting events of the year.
In 1957 a team from Monterrey, Mexico became the first foreign team to win the World Series. In 1960 a German team became the first entry from Europe and in 1967 a West Tokyo nine became the first team from the Far East to win the World Series.
The Little League Museum is housed in a two-story Colonial-style brick museum that features eight theme rooms. Immediately inside the lobby the visitor visually steps into a simulated Little League World Series game viewing the crowd in a large photographic mural. A fibre-optic map traces the growth of baseball across the world.
The Founders Room displays artifacts and newspaper clippings from Little League's earliest days. A Basics Room emphasizes rules and a World Series Room honors the Little League champions.
Safety, nutrition and warm-up exercises are highlighted in the Play It Safe Room. A large exhibit on drugs provides a sobering reminder that 12-year -olds can no longer play baseball in isolated innocence. Little kids and big kids alike will love the Play Ball Room where fans can hit and pitch for thirty seconds and then watch their replayed performance on video monitors.
Hundreds of future major leaguers played Little League baseball. The Showcase Room houses Little League gloves and uniforms from today's top baseball stars. In 1989 Carl yastrzemski became the first Little League graduate to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Around The World Room highlights memorabilia from Little Leagues everywhere.
Little League films are shown in the 100-seat Diamond Theater. Highlights of past World Series are available on video monitors. The Hall of Fame for Distinguished Little League Graduates began in 1988. Pitching great Tom Seaver was the first Hall inductee. Induction ceremonies are held each August in conjunction with the Little League World Series.
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