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Play Ball!
The Story of Little League Baseball®
264 pages | 19 color/140 b&w illustrations | 8.5 x 11 | 2001
ISBN 978-0-271-02118-8 | cloth: $41.95 tr
ISBN 978-0-271-02402-8 | paper: $30.95 tr
“Play Ball! with its extensive and quite useful appendices, is a slice of Americana, topped with a dollop or two of social conscience, historical context, and self-promotion, followed by a healthy dose of nostalgia. A follow-up, or the second game of a possible publishing double-header, might consist of the memoirs of former Little Leaguers. that, like its predecessor, would likely be a sure hit.” —S. Michael Dewey, Aethlon
“The Van Aukens’ book is a straightforward account of a mountain of facts, including those describing the organization’s rocky times. Foremost among these are its split with Little League founder Carl Stotz and lawsuits involving gender-related issues.
�” —Ross Atkin, Christian Science Monitor
“Play Ball! is the best account of the evolution of Little League Basebll now available.
The Van Aukens’ work is clearly written, profusely illustrated, attractively designed, and full of valuable appendices.
Not only will readers who have or have had children in Little League Baseball enjoy the Van Aukens’ efforts, but so will readers interested in baseball generally. Theirs is a handy reference book which is fun to read or simply to thumb through.” —G.S. Rowe, Pennsylvania History
“Play Ball! is a delightful walk down the storied history of Little League Baseball. For those of us who played the dreams of our youth, it brings back mighty memories. For those of us reluctant adults who still dream, it’s a wonderful reminder of what might have been.” —John Grisham,
“Did 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.” —Library Journal, Library Journal
“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.,
"Play Ball! is a delightful walk down the storied history of Little League Baseball. For those of us who played the dreams of our youth, it brings back mighty memories. For those of us reluctant adults who still dream, it’s a wonderful reminder of what might have been." —John Grisham
"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; struggle's 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.
Lance Van Auken is the Media Relations and Publications Director of Little League Baseball. He joined Little League in 1993 as its Southern Region assistant director. A Little League player from age seven to eighteen, he also has volunteered since 1980 as an umpire, manager, coach, and league vice-president.
Robin Van Auken is an editor and writer. She also owns a literary agency, The Omnibus.