Barksdale's Little League

Source: The Observer, Aug. 23, 1957

Often referred to as America's national pastime, baseball has been enjoyed in America by player's, and spectator's alike since the game was modernized in the 1840s. In the 1920s, the American Legion formed a baseball program for teenage boys, and schools started baseball programs. But opportunities to play baseball were virtually non-existent for pre-teens until Carl Stotz of Williamsport, PA, founded Little League Baseball.

It all began in 1938 when Stotz was watching a bunch of kids trying to play baseball on a regulation diamond, with inadequate equipment and without the benefit of coaching and organization. He had the idea to organize a league for the youngsters, but first, he had to work out the details. So, Stotz gathered several neighborhood children and experimented with different equipment and field dimensions during that summer. He enlisted help from members of the community, and the first game was played in 1939.

Little League is a scaled-down version of organized baseball to fit youngsters between the ages of eight and twelve. The playing field is two-thirds the size of the regulation diamond, with bases 60-feet apart, and pitchers stand 40 feet and 4 inches from the home plate. The games are limited to six innings compared to nine innings in the Minor and Major Leagues. The bats and balls are the exact sizes as those used in the Major Leagues but lighter. In the interest of safety, steel cleats were banned from the league, causing sporting goods manufacturers to make special rubber sole shoes for kids.

In the beginning, they had the National Little League Tournament, now known as the Little League World Series. Its popularity snowballed, and by 1950 at least 37 states were competing for national honors in the Little League. The Little League World Series had played to capacity crowds for the previous two seasons.

Source: The Observer, Jan. 11, 1957

It's unclear to this writer exactly when Bossier Parish formed its first Little League team(s). But, in 1957, Barksdale received the first Little League franchise in Louisiana from the National Little League headquarters in Williamsport, PA., to play that year. "The franchise was presented to Col. Ralph J. White, base commander, by Master Sgt. James Lovejoy, 1956 president of the base Little Leagues. The colonel was deputizing for Col. Robert H. Borders, newly elected president for 1957 who was unable to receive the franchise in person because of TDY commitments."

Tech. Sgt. Rufus Bohannon was named vice-president of the league that year. The previous year he and Master Sgt. Delmar Cook coached the championship 3rd Triple S Wildcats to their second straight base title. That year nearly 167 boys signed up for Little League baseball, with an even greater number expected for the coming season. Five teams made up the league, and they were eligible for the state, district, regional, and World Series playoffs.

This week is National Little League week, and eighty years ago today, the first Little League game was played. Since then, Little League Baseball has become the world's largest organized youth sports program. It has grown from three teams to nearly 200,000 teams in all 50 U.S. States and more than 80 countries. In 1974 Little League Softball was created. The primary goal was to give the children a game that provides fundamental principles teaching sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork. Valuable lessons that can be carried out throughout one's lifetime.

To learn more about sports in Bossier Parish, visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City. Be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB and check out our blog, http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/. We are excited to announce that we are now on Tiktok; follow us @bplhistorycenter.

By: Amy Robertson