American Legion baseball

American Legion baseball

American Legion Baseball
Sport Baseball
Founded 1925
CEO Attorney Donahue
Inaugural season 1926
No. of teams 5,000+
Country United States
Most recent champion(s) Midland, MI
Most titles Cincinnati, OH Post 50 (7)
Official website http://www.baseball.legion.org/baseball

American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by teenage boys in 50 states in the USA. More than five thousand teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1925 at Milbank, South Dakota.

Purpose

According to the American Legion, the purpose of American Legion Baseball is to give young men "an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, leadership qualities, and to have fun." [1]

History

See footnote[2][3]

Age divisions

See footnote[4]
  • Junior American Legion Baseball (ages 13–17)
  • Senior American Legion Baseball (19 and under)[5]

Regional tournaments

See footnote[6][7][5][8]
Divisions
  • Central Plains: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
  • Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
  • Mid-Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
  • Mid-South: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee
  • Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island
  • Northwest: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
  • Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Puerto Rico
  • Western: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah

State tournaments

See footnote[9][10]

[11]

World Series

See footnotes[12][13]

National champions

See footnote[14]

1926–1959

1960–1999

2000–present

Sectional champions

See footnote[15]

Regional champions

See footnote[16]

Department champions

See footnote[17]

Awards

See footnote[18][19]
  • American Legion Graduate of the Year: "A Major League Baseball player, who is an American Legion Baseball alumnus, is honored each year with the American Legion Graduate of the Year award. The award recognizes character, leadership, playing abilities and community service."[19][18]
  • George W. Rulon Player of the Year: "The award is based on integrity, mental attitude, cooperation, citizenship, sportsmanship, scholastic aptitude and general good conduct."[19][20][18]
  • Louisville Slugger Batting Champion: Awarded "to the player with the highest batting average during national competition."[19][18]
  • Rawlings Big Stick Award: Presented "to the player who rounds the most bases in regional and national competition."[19][18]
  • Dr. Irvin L. "Click" Cowger RBI Memorial Award: Awarded to the player who "is credited with the most runs batted in at the regional tournament and World Series."[19][18]
  • Bob Feller Pitching Award: Presented to the pitcher "with the most strikeouts in regional and national competition."[19][18]
  • James F. Daniel Jr. Memorial Sportsmanship Award: Presented "to a player who participates in the Legion World Series and best embodies the principles of good sportsmanship."[19][18]
  • Jack Williams Memorial Leadership Award: Presented by "the Department of North Dakota ... to the manager and coach of the national championship team as outstanding representatives of adult leadership."[19][18]

All-Academic Team

See footnote[21]

Pledge

American Legion Code of Sportsmanship

I Will Keep The Rules.

I Will Keep Faith with my Teammates.

I Will Keep my Temper.

I Will Keep myself Fit.

I Will Keep a Stout Heart in Defeat.

I Will Keep my Pride under in Victory.

I Will Keep a Sound Soul, a Clean Mind, & a Healthy Body.

Alumni

See footnote[22][23]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ National Baseball Site. American Legion Baseball official website.
  2. ^ League HistoryPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  3. ^ History of American Legion Baseball. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  4. ^ Senior & Junior American Legion Age Eligibility Chart. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  5. ^ a b Senior teams are eligible to compete in national tournaments and the World Series. Go to Tournament Rules and Policies and scroll down to Page 3 ("TOURNAMENT RULES", at paragraph 1). American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  6. ^ Regional TournamentsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  7. ^ Tournaments; Regional. The American Legion World Series website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  8. ^ Regional Tournaments. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  9. ^ State TournamentsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  10. ^ State Tournaments. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  11. ^ http://brookers.homestead.com/Brooklawnbaseball.html. 
  12. ^ The American Legion World Series website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  13. ^ World SeriesPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  14. ^ ; "American Legion Baseball National Champions" (1926–present) (pages 1-3)Past National ChampionsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  15. ^ For the sectional champions (1926–1935), go to ; "American Legion Baseball National Champions"Past National ChampionsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; , scroll down to page 3 ("Sectional Champions") and then scroll down to bottom half of page 4 (1926–1935; Western Sectional Champions in left-hand column and Eastern Sectional Champions in right-hand column). The "sectional" (regional) champions for 1937–1959 are on page 3 and the top half of page 4. The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  16. ^ For the regional champions (1960–present), go to ; "American Legion Baseball National Champions"Past National ChampionsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; and scroll down to page 5 ("Regional Champions") (1960–present). The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  17. ^ ; "American Legion Baseball Department Champions since 1926" (for the 50 states and Puerto Rico)Past Department ChampionsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; Resources; History; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i AwardsPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i Baseball Awards. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  20. ^ American Legion Player of the Year (1949–present). Baseball-Almanac. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  21. ^ All-Academic TeamPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  22. ^ Baseball AlumniPrograms; Family and Youth; Baseball; . The American Legion official website. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  23. ^ Famous American Legion Baseball Alumni. American Legion Baseball official website. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  24. ^ "Baseball Tonight". August 2, 2009.
  25. ^ "Medford Mustangs win with two runs in ninth, will play for Legion title". The Oregonian. 2009-08-17. 

External links

  • Baseball. American Legion Baseball official website
  • Blog: All of Baseball: American Legion