Penn State Press Publishes History Of Little League
April 20, 2001
University Park, Pa. — For more than 60 years, youngsters have trotted onto Little League Baseball playing fields, with dreams of being the next Willie Mays, Mark McGwire, or Lisa Fernandez. Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball, recently published by Penn State Press, is the first complete account of the sport played every spring by more than 360,000 children worldwide.
The book charts Little League Baseball’s history from its earliest days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the playing fields of Venezuela, Japan, and Poland, and shows how, in many respects, Little League’s history parallels America’s history. It examines issues such as racial and gender equity, and devotes a chapter to girls’ struggle to participate in the organization.
During their research, authors Lance and Robin Van Auken were granted complete access to the Little League Baseball archives, and access to the personal archives of Little League founder Carl Stotz.
Play Ball! contains appendixes that include winners of all Little League Baseball and Softball World Series through 2000, a year-by-year history of Little League, countries in Little League, and lists and pictures of some of the famous people who played the game as children, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Bradley, President George W. Bush, Kevin Costner, Mark McGwire, Dan Quayle, Tom Selleck, and George Will.
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Contact: Susan Shoup, Penn State Press, at (814) 865-1327 or e-mail srs200@psu.edu.