1Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Little
2League Baseball.

3WHEREAS, Little League Baseball is celebrating the 75th
4anniversary of its 1939 founding by local resident Carl Stotz in
5Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and

6WHEREAS, The league commenced with three teams of ten players
7each, with each team benefiting from the sponsorship of a
8separate local business and with all teams enjoying the support
9of parents and volunteers; and

10WHEREAS, On June 6, 1939, the first official Little League
11Baseball game was played in Williamsport; and

12WHEREAS, Little League players range from 4 to 18 years of
13age; and

1WHEREAS, The theme of the 75th anniversary celebration is
2"Little League, Big Legacy, Developing Major League People for
375 Years"; and

4WHEREAS, Little League's motto of "Courage, Character and
5Loyalty" uses values that reflect the heart of the organization
6and are exemplified in its coaches, players, volunteers and
7alumni; and

8WHEREAS, Little League seeks to develop good citizens by
9instilling in its players the importance of sportsmanship,
10discipline, fair play and teamwork and by promoting strong
11community relationships and involvement through volunteerism
12among its adult participants; and

13WHEREAS, For the first ten years of the league's existence,
14most of the baseball games were played in the greater
15Williamsport area; and

16WHEREAS, In 1947, Little League's first World Series was
17played, as the league had begun to expand after World War II;
18and

19WHEREAS, In 1957, with Little League having expanded
20internationally, Monterrey, Mexico, produced the first team from
21beyond the borders of the United States to win the Little League
22World Series; and

23WHEREAS, In 1974, girls were formally permitted to play
24Little League Baseball and the Little League organization
25launched its first softball division; and

26WHEREAS, In 1989, the Little League Challenger Division was
27created to give children with physical and developmental
28challenges the opportunity to play baseball and softball; and

29WHEREAS, In 1992, the first Little League Baseball World
30Series night game was played; and

1WHEREAS, In 2011, the 31-game Little League Baseball World
2Series total attendance was 410,905, which set a new attendance
3record for the event; and

4WHEREAS, Each summer across the United States, Little League
5Baseball organizes nine divisions of play that all conclude with
6their own World Series; and

7WHEREAS, The oldest of these World Series is the Little
8League Baseball World Series played at the Little League
9International Complex, which is spread across 72 acres in South
10Williamsport; and

11WHEREAS, In 2014, Little League Baseball and Softball is the
12world's largest organized youth sports program, with 2.4 million
13boys and girls as players, and one million adult volunteers in
14all 50 states and 83 countries; and

15WHEREAS, For 75 years, Little League has provided communities
16around the world the opportunity for families to connect and for
17children to come together in a healthy, safe environment to
18learn the values of team sports and the fundamentals of baseball
19and softball; and

20WHEREAS, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is known worldwide as
21the Home of Little League Baseball; therefore be it

22RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
2375th anniversary of Little League Baseball; and be it further

24RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
25Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer, Little
26League International, 539 U.S. Route 15 Hwy, P.O. Box 3485,
27Williamsport, Pennsylvania 17701-0485.