The American Legion is committed to America's youth and that is why we have sponsored
American Legion Baseball since 1925. The goals of American Legion Baseball are the
development of team discipline, individual character and leadership development qualities
in young people.
American Legion Baseball is the oldest and largest, nationwide, baseball program in
America. American Legion Baseball became a National program in 1925. Over eight million
teenagers have played American Legion Baseball since its inception in 1926. The first
National Championship tournaments began in 1926.In 1997, 4,952 teams were registered for
National tournament play.
Nearly 89,000 players, ages 15 to 18, participated in 1996. Since 1985, 1,400 new teams
have registered to play American Legion Baseball. American Legion Posts also support and
sponsor some 2,500 -- younger age teams who are registered with Little League, Babe Ruth,
Pony, Dixie, etc.
On an average, 65% of Major League Baseball players played American Legion Baseball as a
teenager.Nearly 75% of all college players played American Legion Baseball as a teenager.
Since 1926, Major League Baseball has honored The American Legion World Series Champions
at The Major League World Series. The Commissioner's Office annually presents a plaque to
The American Legion champions on the field at The Major League World Series. The 1996
National Championship team, from Yardley, Pennsylvania attended two games in New York
City, and was presented the Commissioner's Award by Lenny Coleman, President of the
National League. The American Legion Player of the Year is honored by the National
Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, with a plaque at the annual induction ceremony at
Cooperstown, New York. The 1996 American Legion Player of the Year is Christian Bourgeois
from Gonzales, LA. Christian was honored at the 1997 Hall of Fame game.
Since 1988, our National Championship game has been telecast on ESPN, and will do so
again this year. The 1997 Championship game will again be broadcast at 1:00 p.m. eastern
time on Thursday, August 28.
The average annual budget for teams participating in league play is $10,000.The average
annual budget for teams winning their state tournament is $20,000.Over seventeen million
dollars is spent annually by local American Legion Posts to sponsor these athletic teams.
The American Legion National Headquarters spends approximately 1.2 million dollars
annually to operate and host 64 teams that qualify for the National Tournament.Each year,
1,400 players and coaches on 64 teams compete at eight Regional Tournaments.
All National Tournaments are eight-team double elimination tournaments, held over a five
day period. Attendance averages 75,000 paid admissions for the eight Regional Tournament
sites and 40,000 paid admissions at the World Series Tournament.
The American Legion is the only youth program that funds 100% of the cost for housing,
transportation, meals, umpires and baseballs for our National tournaments.
Major League Baseball has supported our program annually since 1926 and currently
contributes $25,000 (3% of the National budget), which helps offset tournament expenses
for American Legion teams at Regional and World Series Tournament.
Across the country, The American Legion's 2.9 million members have been and remain
committed to this nation's youth. Our records confirm that 14,000 local Posts of The
American Legion spent more than $48 million last year to conduct programs for young people
in their respective communities. An impressive amount that pales by comparison to the
time, talent and effort given by our volunteers to the young people of America.American
Legion Baseball is just one of several major youth programs sponsored by The American
Legion as an investment in America's young people. We sponsor American Legion Boys State
and Boys Nation programs which teaches government to 30,000 high schools juniors each
year. The American Legion also sponsors more than 2,400 Boy Scout Troops which helps over
66,000 youngsters develop leadership skills through ScoutingThe American Legion High
School Oratorical Contest encourages young men and women to learn about our Constitution.
Students test their speaking ability in contests that provide $138,000 in scholarship
moneys each year. The American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program teaches young men and
women about gun safety and starts them on a path of air rifle competition that can lead to
an Olympic Gold Medal.
The American Legion is committed to continuing to serve America in peace time as these
veterans did in war time. The American Legion is committed to assisting the needy and
disabled veteran and their family. And, The American Legion is committed to developing
America's Youth by giving them many opportunities to learn leadership on the baseball
diamond or in a class room or in front of an audience.