Little League Books by the Van Aukens
Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball
This book charts Little League’s history from the earliest days and shows how, in many respects, its history parallels America’s history: isolation in the beginning; rapid expansion; a civil war of sorts, followed by reconstruction; struggles over civil rights and gender equity; and foreign entanglements.
A microcosm of American society, Little League reflects, and is affected by, cultural, political and historical trends. Today, Little League is played on 12,000 fields in every U.S. state and in 103 other countries on six continents.
Little League also sanctions play in softball, Tee Ball, and baseball for disabled children-called the Challenger Division. The Little League Baseball World Series, played annually in Williamsport, is watched by crowds of 40,000 each year in person.
Little League Baseball World Series
This book is a photographic companion book to “Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball” (Penn State University Press). It profiles more than five decades of the World Series.
In 1947, when the first Little League Baseball World Series was played, there were seventeen teams in two states. Since then, Little League has achieved global recognition and has touched the lives of children and families in more than one hundred countries.
Now, millions more tune in to ABC’s Wide World of Sports and ESPN for live coverage of the final game. Little League Baseball has enriched the lives of more than 30 million boys and girls who have worn a Little League uniform.