World of Little League Museum

The Little League Museum is dedicated to educating people about the history of Little League Baseball and Softball. The museum originally opened in 1982 but went through extensive renovations during 2012 and 2013. The museum reopened summer of 2013 and is now called the World of Little League Museum. The museum contains hundreds of curated artifacts and thousands of archives both displayed in an informative and entertaining way. There is also a large gift or souvenir shop. "The focus of the museum shifted from simply telling the story of Little League’s past to a more dynamic presentation of how Little League has intertwined with U.S. and world history, and even helped to shape history. The museum explains how Little League became the world’s leader not only in the number of participants, but in sports safety as well."₁

Little League Baseball was first founded in 1938 by Williamsport, PA resident Carl Stotz. Stotz made a promise to his nephews, who had no way of playing organized baseball, that he would figure out a way for them to play baseball in a professional manner. During the summer of 1938, Stotz gathered neighborhood children and came up with a set of rules and plans for his boys baseball program. He created a three team league which played on a small field sponsored by three local businesses for $30 each. Their first game was played at Park Point in Williamsport on June 6, 1939. From word of mouth alone, the league quickly spread. Hundreds of inquiries were coming in from parents whose children wanted to play baseball. Little League quickly expanded to several states throughout the 1940s and the first postseason tournament, the Little League World Series, was played in 1948.₂
 
In only a little more than a decade Little League became an international phenomenon with leagues now forming outside the United States in places such as the Panama Canal. By the 1960s Little League had become a global program with over 5,500 leagues worldwide. The Little League World Series also began to be televised on ABC's Wide World of Sports. By the 1990s Little League had expanded its reach to over 100 countries worldwide. Now both ABC and ESPN were televising the Little League World Series.₃

In just six decades Little League Baseball has grown from three teams to almost 200,000. Teams are located in all 50 U.S. states and over 80 other counties. "And the basic goal remains the same as it did in 1939, to give the children of the world a game that provides fundamental principles (sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork) they can use later in life to become good citizens."₄ 

1. http://www.littleleague.org/learn/museum/World_of_Little_League/About.htm 2. http://www.littleleague.org/Little_League_Big_Legacy/Timeline.htm 3. http://www.littleleague.org/Little_League_Big_Legacy/Timeline.htm 4. http://www.littleleague.org/learn/about/historyandmission.htm