The road to Williamsport is heavily traveled, despite the fact that this small city in northcentral Pennsylvania is home to only 29,000 people. That's because Williamsport is home to the annual Little League Baseball World Series, which attracts more than 40,000 people to its final game, and millions of viewers to all 32 of
Lance Van Auken is probably the world’s foremost expert on the history of Little League Baseball. There’s only a handful of people who may know more, or as much, as Lance. He earned this honor by being a Little League volunteer, and then an employee, for most of his life. He shares this knowledge as
Joseph W. Smith is a teacher, speaker, film critic, journalist and author living in Northcentral Pennsylvania, with his wife. The son of a professional journalist, Joe wrote his first book when he was 12, "... an ambitious and profusely illustrated sci-fi opus called Project Jupiter." Then, 37 years later, he wrote "The Psycho File.”
We celebrated a milestone in the Van Auken family: our 35th wedding anniversary. Robin and Lance Van Auken Mr. and Mrs. Lance Van Auken, South Williamsport, observed their 35th wedding anniversary Feb. 14, 2016. They were married in Seminole, Fla. Mrs. Van Auken, the former Robin Butler, is a native of San
Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball By Lance and Robin Van Auken Play Ball! The Story of Little League® Baseball is the remarkable story of Little League® Baseball, from the first diamond in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the playing fields of the world. Little League’s history is told with great detail at the World of Little
The Little League Baseball World Series (Robin Van Auken, Arcadia, 2002) This book is a photographic companion book to Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball (Penn State University Press 2001). It profiles more than five decades of the World Series. In 1947, when the first Little League Baseball World Series was played,
Lance Van Auken, former Vice President of Little League Baseball, Inc., and Executive Director of Little League Museum, discusses the new museum renovation. (Click this link to play the recent interview on WRAK Radio with Ken Sawyer)
"'Play Ball!' is a delightful walk down the storied history of Little League Baseball. For those of us who played the dreams of your youth, it brings back mighty memories. For those of us reluctant adults who still dream, it's a wonderful reminder of what might have been." —John Grisham Play Ball! The Story
