I spent the weekend at Penn State Friday night and Williamsport, Pa Saturday. Williamsport Pennsylvania is the home and origin of Little League baseball and the home of "Historic" Bowman Field, which is the home field of the Williamsport Crosscutters. The Crosscutters are an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The first four images are of Stoltz Field the first Little League baseball field in America.
Gee Ted ... wished I knew you were in the area ... would have loved to chat with you ... my grandson will be playing in a tournament at Original Field next week .... shot several HS playoff games at Bowman last month ... haven't had time to get down to the 'Cutters yet this season .... I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Stotz ... he really was quite a guy ... we were on a first name basis ... I called him "Mr. Stotz" ... he called me "Young Man" ... but I was much younger then ....
Back in 1997, they had a ball toss that began at Original Field where they had the fellas from the teams in the first-ever LLWS take the field and toss the ball around the field then the ball was relayed by current and former LL players all the way to Lamade Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Quite an event ... my 6th grade teacher was one of the players from that first series ... so that made it even a more special event to shoot for me.
Original still holds tours of the field and their "museum" and still continues to distinguish itself separate and apart from LLB Inc. A lot of that has to do with the conflict in visions between Mr. Stotz and then president, PJ McGovern, who came in with big rubber bucks and wanted to take LLB to commercial levels beyond what Mr. Stotz had ever envisioned. For one year, the LLWS was actually called the "Keds Tournament". McGovern had been the major supplier of rubber to Keds sneakers. Until recent, the Stotz collection of Little League memorabelia had been more vast than the LLB Museum itself. Fortunately, the Stotz family and LLB were able to break bread over the past 10-15 years and many of Carl's original items are on now on display in South Williamsport.
Ted... nice shots, but I have to admit... history aside, Original has not distinguished itself as "visually historic" in my opinion. The field on 4th avenue unfortunately looks like any other Little League field across the nation. Once again, it's awe is in the fact of knowing that the very first Little League game was played there and for ButchM... in knowing that the great Putsee Vannucci was there to capture it.
butchM wrote:
Gee Ted ... wished I knew you were in the area ... would have loved to chat with you ... my grandson will be playing in a tournament at Original Field next week .... shot several HS playoff games at Bowman last month ... haven't had time to get down to the 'Cutters yet this season .... I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Stotz ... he really was quite a guy ... we were on a first name basis ... I called him "Mr. Stotz" ... he called me "Young Man" ... but I was much younger then ....
Back in 1997, they had a ball toss that began at Original Field where they had the fellas from the teams in the first-ever LLWS take the field and toss the ball around the field then the ball was relayed by current and former LL players all the way to Lamade Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Quite an event ... my 6th grade teacher was one of the players from that first series ... so that made it even a more special event to shoot for me....Show more →
Thanks for the reply and the history. Will be back in Williamsport this weekend. PM me.
P Alesse wrote:
Original still holds tours of the field and their "museum" and still continues to distinguish itself separate and apart from LLB Inc. A lot of that has to do with the conflict in visions between Mr. Stotz and then president, PJ McGovern, who came in with big rubber bucks and wanted to take LLB to commercial levels beyond what Mr. Stotz had ever envisioned. For one year, the LLWS was actually called the "Keds Tournament". McGovern had been the major supplier of rubber to Keds sneakers. Until recent, the Stotz collection of Little League memorabelia had been more vast than the LLB Museum itself. Fortunately, the Stotz family and LLB were able to break bread over the past 10-15 years and many of Carl's original items are on now on display in South Williamsport.
Ted... nice shots, but I have to admit... history aside, Original has not distinguished itself as "visually historic" in my opinion. The field on 4th avenue unfortunately looks like any other Little League field across the nation. Once again, it's awe is in the fact of knowing that the very first Little League game was played there and for ButchM... in knowing that the great Putsee Vannucci was there to capture it....Show more →
Thanks for the reply Paul. I learned more about LLB from you and Butch than I previously knew.
Ted... nice shots, but I have to admit... history aside, Original has not distinguished itself as "visually historic" in my opinion.
Quite true ... Original Field is a little "Plain Jane" as far as historical sites go ... but I think that is the character it is suppose to represent ... humble beginnings that was about kids having the opportunity to play organized baseball, a place to learn the fundamentals of the game and also the lessons of becoming good citizens .... the tiff between Stotz and McGovern is reflected in the distinction between the two "museums." Stotz was all about the kids, McGovern wanted to use the kids to sell more product. In the end they both did get mostly what they wanted.
In the early years, the media and tv were along for the ride, now ABC/ESPN runs the show. The schedule is set to their satisfaction. Access is governed by the network's needs and desires. It can't helped that there is a loss of innocence when someone starts throwing around mountains of money at an event that was designed as a truly amateur event for children. It's still a great event and a monumental achievement to win the title or even be one of the few teams to participate. It's just not always pleasant to witness the greed of the adults behind the scenes.
I do understand what Carl was upset about those many years ago with the series becoming too commercial when the main focus of the organization was volunteerism, stewardship and teaching ... not a vehicle for big corporations seeking to bolster profits. Fortunately, at the local level around the world, there is still an emphasis on the kids themselves.
Ted ellis wrote:
Thanks for the reply and the history. Will be back in Williamsport this weekend. PM me.
Ted
Sure ... this weekend I have a triathlon, a parade and a class reunion to shoot on Saturday ... but if you are going to be at Bowman Friday or Sunday I can probably swing by ... I'll PM you later today.
butchM wrote:
Sure ... this weekend I have a triathlon, a parade and a class reunion to shoot on Saturday ... but if you are going to be at Bowman Friday or Sunday I can probably swing by ... I'll PM you later today.
I will be getting in mid-game Friday night. I will leave Sunday morning.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I was born and spent several years in Williamsport and my brother attended the baseball camps each summer at the "modern" Lamade Field location in S.Williamsport. My grandparents lived for a time across the West 4th Street bridge from Bowman Field in Newberry. Both sides of my family originate in Cogan Station.
The lighting at Bowman does leave alot to be desired for sure....
If you want some more Williamsport trivia, the current lights were put in I think about 10 years ago...the ones they replaced came from the old Polo Grounds in NY when it was torn down
surfing girl wrote:
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I was born and spent several years in Williamsport and my brother attended the baseball camps each summer at the "modern" Lamade Field location in S.Williamsport. My grandparents lived for a time across the West 4th Street bridge from Bowman Field in Newberry. Both sides of my family originate in Cogan Station.
I might know him. I was on staff at that camp from 1979-1992
Ive not posted much in the 9 years I've been amember here....but its pretty funny seeing my home town teams on here.....looking forward to shooting at Volunteer Stadium on Friday night
photolew wrote:
Ive not posted much in the 9 years I've been amember here....but its pretty funny seeing my home town teams on here.....looking forward to shooting at Volunteer Stadium on Friday night
Hey Paul....thats me. We need to get together when you are out here next month...assuming you are coming for the series.(that sounds familiar doesn't it....)
One of the perks that the local district has is its championship games are held at Volunteer stadium. The local DA has been pestering me for years to come up and do action pixs....but its never worked out schedule wise.
photolew wrote:
Hey Paul....thats me. We need to get together when you are out here next month...assuming you are coming for the series.(that sounds familiar doesn't it....)
One of the perks that the local district has is its championship games are held at Volunteer stadium. The local DA has been pestering me for years to come up and do action pixs....but its never worked out schedule wise.
Wonderful. I know we have always missed each other due to time constraints. Let's try and work something out this year. BTW... one of my favorite eating establishments in that area is Haywood's. We'll see if ButchM can join us.
but I was much younger then ....
)