June's
Masonic Minute
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Masonic Minute – June 2011 |
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 In honor of the late Bro. Carl Stotz, the
Mason who founded Little League Baseball in 1939, Pennsylvania Masons
embarked on a monumental program for the Masons of Pennsylvania to
support the expansion of the Little League World Series in Williamsport.
In 2000, during a well attended media conference in the Little League
Baseball Museum in Williamsport, Grand Master Dluge tossed a winning
pitch in this team effort to benefit youth by presenting a contribution
of $500,000 to Little League Baseball. |
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 Because of this support, in conjunction with
the building of another stadium, the Little League complex has a big
league-style scoreboard marked with Masonic symbols and dedicated in
honor of the late Bro. Stotz. In addition, a memorial sculpture of him
was placed at the entrance of the stadium complex. A Masonic cornerstone
laying ceremony for the memorial and dedication of the statue was held
during the Little League World Series. |
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| A short chronology of Little League baseball: |
1938 -
Williamsport, resident Carl E. Stotz gathers neighborhood children
during the summer and devises the first rules and field dimensions
for his planned boys baseball program.
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1939 -
Little League Baseball is founded by Carl Stotz, who enlists help
from others in the community.. ... A $30 donation is sufficient to
purchase uniforms for each of the first three teams, named after
their sponsors: Lycoming Dairy, Lundy Lumber, and Jumbo Pretzel.
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1940 -
A new playing site is used near the original field. … A second
league is formed in Williamsport, modeled on Carl Stotz’s pilot
program.
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1941 -
The need for workers and war materials slow the growth of Little
League as the nation prepares for war. The field is taken over for
war production, and the operation of “Original Little League” moves
to Max M. Brown Memorial Park.
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1942 -
The “keystone” logo of Little League is created by Carl Stotz and
becomes the symbol for Little League Baseball. … Ed Yonkin pitches
the first no-hitter in Little League history, leading Lundy Lumber
over Stein’s Service.
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1944 -
Carl Stotz receives a draft notice. However, the draft regulations
are soon revised, and he remains in Williamsport.
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1945 -
A game at Original Little League Field in Williamsport is suspended,
Aug. 14, 1945, after it is announced at the field that World War II
has ended.
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1949 -
A feature about Little League in the Saturday Evening Post spreads
the Little League story to more than 14 million people. ...
Newsreels highlighting the 1948 National Tournament are seen by
millions more, and Carl Stotz is deluged by requests for information
on starting a program in hundreds of communities.
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1950 - The first leagues outside the U.S. are formed at
each end of the Panama Canal.
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1953 -
The Little League World Series is televised for the first time.
Howard Cosell handles the play-by-play for ABC
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1955 -
Baseball great Cy Young makes his last visit to the Little League
World Series before his death in September. Carl Stotz is a
pallbearer at his funeral. ... Nine-year-old George W. Bush plays
his first of four years at Central Little League of Midland, Texas,
where he is a catcher on the Cubs. He later becomes the first Little
League graduate to be elected President of the United States.
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1956 -
An out-of-court settlement of a dispute with the Little League Board
of Directors ends with Carl Stotz severing ties with the
organization he founded. ... The Little League Foundation is
created.
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1985 -
For the first time, ABC-TV carries the Little League World Series
championship game live on Wide World of Sports
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1992 -
Carl E. Stotz, founder of Little League, dies. ... the first Little
League World Series night game is played.
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2001 –
Construction is completed on Volunteer Stadium in time for the
expansion of the 55th Little League Baseball World Series. … George
W. Bush becomes the first U.S. President to visit the Little League
Baseball World Series
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 It was Bro. Stotz, who was a member of
John
F. Laedlein Lodge No. 707, Williamsport, who conceived the idea of
organized baseball for young boys. He founded the first program in 1939
with only three teams that today has grown to become the world's largest
organized youth sports program. Nearly three million boys and girls
participate in Little League baseball and softball programs, with one
million volunteers in 103 countries. |
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| My…what one good man can do! |
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