Los Banos Rotary Club History
Tells Of Little League Baseball

Little League Baseball, nationally organized baseball for youngsters up to 12 years old, was explained to members of the Rotary Club Tuesday noon by Justin F. Simons, Fresno insurance man who helped organized and is now head of the Little League at Fresno.

Simon said Little League Baseball was first started up in Pennsylvania in 1939 and has since grown to 776 leagues in the U. S. and Canada, with 75,000 boys participating in the U. S. alone City league winners compete in regional and state finals and the "world championship" games between state winners are played each year at Williamsport, Pa.

The speaker told of the Fresno league's activity last season, when the North Fresno league team continued on to the semi-finals at Santa Monica, where they took third place; and of the San Bernardino team which went to Williamsport and shut out the mighty-rated Chicago team.

Simon said the adult leadership places the greatest emphasis on developing better boys rather than in winning games, though of course they are training the youngsters in the rudiments of the game and they learn to play exceptionally good baseball. Another benefit, he said, is in the fellowship and friendliness that develops among the parents and older friends of the boys who closely follow their activities through the season.

May 16, 1952

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