The History of
American Legion Baseball
The American Legion is committed to America's youth and that is why we have sponsored American Legion Baseball since 1925. The goals of American Legion Baseball are the development of team discipline, individual character and leadership development qualities in young people.
American Legion Baseball is the oldest and largest, nationwide, baseball program in America. American Legion Baseball became a National program in 1925. Over ten million teenagers have played American Legion Baseball since its inception in 1926. The first National Championship tournaments began in 1926.In 2003, 5,420 teams were registered for National tournament play.
Nearly 100,000 players, ages 15 to 19, participated in 2003. Since 1985, 2,000 new teams have registered to play American Legion Baseball. American Legion Posts alsosupport and sponsor some 2,500 -- younger age teams who are registered with Little League, Babe Ruth, Pony, Dixie, etc.
On an average, 65% of Major League Baseball players played American Legion Baseball as a teenager.Nearly 75% of all college players played American Legion Baseball as a teenager.
Since 1926, Major League Baseball has honored The American Legion World Series Champions at The Major League World Series. The Commissioner's Office annually presents a plaque to The American Legion champions on the field at The Major League World Series. The 2003 National Championship team, from Rochester, Minnesota attended two games in New York City, and was presented the Major League Baseball’s Commissioner's Award by Sandy Alderson, Vice President of Operations. The American Legion Player of the Year is honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, with a plaque at the annual induction ceremony at Cooperstown, New York. The 2003 American Legion Player of the Year is Jared Willis from Logan, WV. Jared will be honored at the 2004 Hall of Fame game.
The average annual budget for teams participating in league play is $10,000.The average annual budget for teams winning their state tournament is $20,000.Over seventeen million dollars is spent annually by local American Legion Posts to sponsor these athletic teams.
The American Legion National Headquarters spends approximately $1,200,000 annually to operate and host 64 teams that qualify for the National Tournament.Each year, 1,400 players and coaches on 64 teams compete at eight Regional Tournaments.
All National Tournaments are eight-team double elimination tournaments, held over a five day period. Attendance averages 75,000 paid admissions for the eight Regional Tournament sites and 25,000 paid admissions at the World Series Tournament.
The American Legion is the only youth program that funds 100% of the cost for housing, transportation, meals, umpires and baseballs for our National tournaments.
Major League Baseball has supported our program annually since 1926 and currently contributes $35,400 (3% of the National budget), which helps offset tournament expenses for American Legion teams at Regional and World Series Tournament.
Across the country, The American Legion's 2.7 million members have been and remain committed to this nation's youth. Our records confirm that 15,000 local Posts of The American Legion spent more than $25 million last year to conduct programs for young people in their respective communities. An impressive amount that pales by comparison to the time, talent and effort given by our volunteers to the young people of America.American Legion Baseball is just one of several major youth programs sponsored by The American Legion as an investment in America's young people. We sponsor American Legion Boys State and Boys Nation programs which teaches government to 26,000 high schools juniors each year. The American Legion also sponsors more than 2,700 Boy Scout Troops which helps over 72,000 youngsters develop leadership skills through ScoutingThe American Legion High School Oratorical Contest encourages young men and women to learn about our Constitution. Students test their speaking ability in contests that provide $138,000 in scholarship moneys each year. The American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program teaches young men and women about gun safety and starts them on a path of air rifle competition that can lead to an Olympic Gold Medal. The American Legion is committed to continuing to serve America in peace time as these veterans did in war time.
The American Legion is committed to assisting the needy and disabled veteran and their family. And, The American Legion is committed to developing America's Youth by giving them many opportunities to learn leadership on the baseball diamond or in a class room or in front of an audience.
|
