The Brookline Business Men's
Association Little League, later known as the Brookline Chamber of
Commerce Little League Association, and finally the Brookline Little
League Association, was formed in 1951. A group of local Brookline
baseball enthusiasts, led by John Pascarosa, met with representatives of
the Brentwood Little League Association to get the necessary details to
charter a new league, for children nine to twelve years of age in the
Brookline community, with the national Williamsport Little League
organization.
With help from the officers of
the Brentwood league, who themselves had joined the Williamsport
association the previous year, B.B.M.A. committee members Pascarosa,
Morris Grumet, Eugene Means and Len Rauch were able to gather the
knowledge necessary to make a charter application as an official
Little League organization.
Committee members of the Brookline
Business Mens Association discuss the formation of a
Little League organization for the children of the community in the summer
of 1951.
Pictured are, left to right, John Pascarosa, Eugene Means, W.J. Coleman
(president of the Brentwood Little League), and Morris Grumet.
Missing from photo is Len Rauch.
The administration of the league
would be in the hands of the B.B.M.A., which had unofficially sponsored
a Little League-type instructional program at Moore Park during the
summer of 1951, and also fielded a Pony team, under the sponsorship of
DeBor Funeral Home, in the Southwest Pittsburgh Pony
League.
The Brookline Little League was to
consist of four teams, each with fifteen members, and coached by local
members of the community with baseball knowledge and experience in
handling children. The teams were to consist of fifteen 9 to 12 year-old
boys with no more than five 12 year-olds per team and no less than three
10 year-olds. Each team would have a local sponsor and be provided with
a uniform and the necessary baseball equipment needed, with the exception
of a glove and shoes.
All Little League games were to be
played at the newly completed Community Center Field, which at that time
was not much more than a large, open dirt field without fences or
dugouts. Bleachers were built before opening day and a three-sided,
open-top backstop was installed. Further field improvements would come
later.
The Community Center
Field as it looked in the spring of 1952. Improvements were forthcoming,
but for now this was the home of the fledgling Brookline Little
League.
By January of 1952, the league's
charter application had been accepted by Williamsport state officials
and preparations for the inaugural season went into high gear. The
league officers elected for that first official Little League season
were Morris Grumet, president; J.J. McGaffin, vice-president; John
Pascarosa, secretary; Eugene Means, treasurer; Charley Watterson, player
agent; Jack Ashworth, field representative; Dave Frick, head
umpire.
To increase awareness among the
"small fry" of the community, films about Little League baseball were
distributed to the local schools to be shown to all eligible Little
League-aged children. Many of the local high school students, unable to
participate because of age limitations but willing to help in any way
possible, launched a mail campaign, soliciting donations of $1 from each
resident of Brookline to help defray the startup costs of the new
league.
By February of 1952, sponsors and
managers were located for each of the four teams (Ebenshire Village,
Kiwanis Club, American Legion Post #540 and Community Center), and many
local citizens had volunteered their time to help with the wide range of
other duties associated with running a youth baseball program, like
umpiring, field preparation, maintaining the equipment, and so forth. In
addition, donations in response to the mail campaign were starting to
pour in, many of them far exceeding the requested one
dollar.
Committee members
and team representatives of the newly formed Brookline Businessmen's
Association Little League gather to make preparations for the 1952 spring
season. Pictured are, first row, Morris Grumet, committee member; Ed
Voith, Brookline Community Center sponsor; Joe Marsico, Brookline Kiwanis
Club team sponsor; Cliff Watterson, player agent; Harry Smith, Ebenshire
Village team sponsor and John Pascarosa, committee member. In the second
row are Gilbert Aubenque, publicist; Eugene Means, committee member; Jack
Mealing, official scorer; Henry Hofbauer, Kiwanis Club manager; Joe
Powers, American Legion manager; Francis Wertz, Ebenshire Village manager
and Leo Kelly, legal advisor. Missing from photo are Jack Ashworth, field
representative; George Sayenga, American Legion team sponsor; Joe Reib,
Community Center manager and Len Rauch, committee member.
Now it was time for sign-ups,
which in that first season were done through the mail. Applications were
available at the local schools, Grumet's Market and the Kiddie Shop on
Brookline Boulevard. Try-outs for positions on the four teams were held
in early April. Teams were chosen soon afterwards, and the eagerly
anticipated opening day, which featured a large parade down Brookline
Boulevard, was scheduled for May 27th, 1952.
Apprehension within the community
was at an all-time high. Today, a half century later, we kind of take it
for granted that baseball season has arrived. Sure, the fever catches on
with the first signs of spring, but back in 1952 the Brookline community
was teetering on the edge of something new and exciting. The local
population could feel the tension in the air. The Brookline Journal ran
an entire edition in early May with notes, editorials and advertisements
trumpeting the start of Brookline Little League baseball. Directions
were printed telling everyone just where the Community Center Field was
located and the entire community was invited to come watch their "small
fry" take part in America's national pasttime.
Directions to the
Community Center Field were printed in the Brookline
Journal
Everything was ready for the
umpire to cry, "Play Ball!". The only thing not certain was the weather,
and even that complied. Under a bright blue sky with temperatures in the
seventies, Allegheny County Commissioner John J. Kane threw out the
ceremonial first pitch and the Community Center and American Legion nines
took to the field for the first official Brookline Little League
game.
In that first game, pitcher Jack
Lammert of the Community Center team won a 4-1 decision over the American
Legion squad, striking out 14 batters from the slab and driving in two
runs with his bat. For the losing Legion team, Cliff Watterson made an
impressive mound appearance, striking out eleven of the opposing
batters.
After the rush towards opening day
was complete, the Brookline Little League season began in earnest.
Umpires Nick Roth, Don Campbell, Dave Frick and Jack McLaughlin kept
things in order on the diamond, and each team played an eighteen game
schedule. After the last out of the season was recorded, Kiwanis Club
came out on top with a 12-6 record and a one-game lead over the Ebenshire
Village nine, who posted a 11-7 record, followed by American Legion,
8-10, and Community Center, 5-13.
For Morris Grumet, in his first
year as league president, the season was dubbed a huge success. Even
Brookline's All-Star team posted a respectable 4-2 record in tournament
play, bowing out of the District 4 playoffs, ironically, to the
organization that helped put Brookline baseball on the national map, the
Brentwood Little League Association.
The final chapter to the 1952
season was a banquet at the United Methodist Church. Over 200 people
attended the affair, which was emceed by Pirate Announcer Bob Prince.
Every Little League participant was given a model baseball bat as a
souvenir, and then special awards were handed out for achievements on the
field of play. Kiwanis Club manager Henry Hofbauer was given a team
trophy for winning the first championship, James Nagy was given a trophy
and jacket for Most Valuable Player, Buddy Auen was given a trophy and
jacket as Batting Champion, and Jack Lammert was awarded a trophy and
jacket, in addition to the loudest and longest round of applause, for
being voted the Best Sportsman.
The 1952 season was over, and
Brookline baseball was here to stay. Today, with the dawn of a new
century at hand, the generations of Brookline children who grew
up playing baseball at the Community Center Fields, and later at Sam Bryen,
Danny McGibbeny and Stephen Mayhle Fields owe a sincere debt of gratitude
to those hardy pioneers of 1952. Through their hard work and dedication,
Brookline Little League baseball became a part of our neighborhood
heritage that will never be forgotten.
For more
information on the 1952 inaugural
Brookline Little League season, Click Here.
Here is a photo of
the first group of Brookline Little Leaguers, lined up on the
hillside at the Community Center Field with their managers and coaches in
the back row.
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