History of Thebabe Ruth League

2015

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HISTORY OF THEBABE RUTH LEAGUE

Over fifty years ago, a group of men dedicated to the youth of America met in a suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, and formed what became the very first Babe Ruth League. This group of men eventually agreed to name Marius D. Bonacci as the "founder" of the program which was initially registered under the name Little Bigger League. The program was renamed in 1954 when Claire Ruth, Babe Ruth's widow, who had learned of the merits of the organization and its tremendous growth, met with the administrators. She subsequently gave the organization permission to change its name to Babe Ruth League. She has been quoted as saying, "Babe Ruth was a man who loved children and baseball; he could receive no greater tribute than to have a youth baseball program named after him."

Babe Ruth League, Inc. caught on nationally, then internationally. It now ranks as the premier amateur baseball and softball program in the world.

Babe Ruth League, Inc. has increased steadily from its first 10-team league in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, to its present combined size of over 886,500 players on some 45,200 teams in more than 7,315 leagues.

The success of the Baseball and Softball program is due to the millions of volunteer hours spent every year. Every volunteer, from the local League Manager to the Chairman of the 17-member International Board, is dedicated to the betterment of youth, while at the same time producing better players.

A seven-member Executive Staff, assisted by Regional Service Representatives, maintains Babe Ruth's International Headquarters at 1770 Brunswick Pike in the suburban Trenton community of Lawrence Township with an additional office in Pfafftown, North Carolina.

Local leagues are independent within the guidelines provided by Babe Ruth League International Board. The Babe Ruth International Board is the governing body while Babe Ruth Headquarters is the administrative and promotional center.

It is the 13-15 Division, started in 1951, where the players get their baseball feet wet for the first time under regulations and rules on standard diamonds. Each chartered league is eligible to enter a team in tournament competition. District winners go into statewide competition with that successful club qualifying for one of eight regional tourneys. This division's first World Series was held in 1952.

The next stop in the baseball ladder for young players is the Babe Ruth 16-18 division, born in 1966 and showing remarkable growth and success. Teams follow a similar route as their 13-15 counterparts with the highlights of the campaign being the 16-18 World Series, which was first held in 1968. This series has gained the attention of Major League Scouts from all 30 clubs.

In 1974 the 13-year-Old Prep League was added with the first 13-year-Old World Series being held in 1980. In 1982, Babe Ruth Baseball added yet a third division to its program - the Bambino Division. In 1982, the Bambino Division expanded to all existing areas of the Babe Ruth program. It was a huge success as the division tripled in size from the number of teams that participated in a test pilot program in 1981.

Starting in 1983, each of the eight Babe Ruth Baseball regions offered Bambino tournament competition up to the regional level or play, with the first WorldSeries being held in 1984. The Bambino Division has since been renamed as the Cal Ripken Division.

In 1994, Babe Ruth Baseball organized its First World Series for 16-year-old players. Carmel, Indiana was the host of the first 16-Year-Old World Series.

Babe Ruth League added another dimension to its program in 1984- a Softball Division designed for girls. The Softball Division is open to Babe Ruth League's current age groupings from 5 to 18. The Softball Division was organized because Babe Ruth League recognized a need for softball on the girls' level and a desire for affiliation with an established national program.

The Babe Ruth Baseball/Softball program, above all, is of, by and for youth. It especially tries to make better citizens through proper supervision of regulation competitive baseball/softball in addition to promoting mental and physical development. In adopting rules, in establishing standards and in all planning, the primary consideration is the welfare of the participants.

Babe Ruth Baseball/Softball would make the baseball immortal for whom the program is named very proud. Youth always had a special place reserved in "The Babe's" heart.

Keystone Sr. Babe Ruth Baseball League

League Information

The Keystone Sr. Babe Ruth Baseball league is now entering its eighteenth year. We started with seven teams in 1997, had as many as 17 teams about 10 years ago butlast season in 2014 we now have only 6teams & is hoping to expand again at least back to double digit teams.

Our 2014 teams were: East Stroudsburg Mustangs, Forks Township Falcons, Franklin Township Hurricanes, Franklin Township Shockers, Panther Valley Black Diamonds, and Towamensing Township Yankees.

The purpose of the league is to develop and operate a baseball program in affiliation with Babe Ruth League, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, in conformity with and pursuant to the principals, rules and regulations established by Babe Ruth League, Inc. In conjunction with such purposes, the objective of the league is to, by means of a supervised, competitive baseball program, guided and governed by the Babe Ruth League, Inc., implant in the youth of the community ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and reverence, so they may be finer, stronger and happier youths who will grow to be good, clean, healthy adults.

The league includes the following areas: Pennsylvania counties of Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks, Monroe, Pike (Lehman and Porter Townships) and Carbon (Townships of Franklin, Penn Forest, Towamensing, East Penn and Mahoning and Boroughs of Bowmanstown, Palmerton, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe).

The league is for players aged 15 through 18. Each team will play a minimum of 15 regular season games the number of games each season varies depending on the number of teams and division(s). The league will continue with a Major League type format, which includes a mid-season All-star Weekend hosted by Franklin Township each season except last year when Towamensing hosted it. The weekend All-Star game will be between the league’s best players and will give state tournament coaches a chance to evaluate players for the two state tournament teams that the league sponsors. Immediately following the last game of the season will be a playoff championship tournament in which usually every team gets to participate in. The final 2 teams will play in a Best-of-3 League Championship Series to determine League Champion.

Keystone Sr. Babe Ruth League has given many of our players the exposure to college scouts and has been instrumental in these players getting scholarships for college. Our alumni play at such schools as West Point, Lafayette, Lehigh, DeSales, Penn State and many other prestigious universities throughout the country. We are proud of our contributions and predicate all of our activities on the well-being of our players.

If you are interested in entering a team in the League, you contact one of the following: Charlie Litwin, League President, at 610-261-1289 or Justin Litwin, League Secretary, Statistician & Website Administrator, at 484-894-9649 or , or you can visit & browse our league’s website at or keystonebaberuth.baberuthonline.com.
Keystone Sr. Babe Ruth Baseball League

Member Team Territory Description

The following is a list of all current member teams/organizations and a description of the territory each now holds, and can draw from, as based on each team's application for admission to the League and the League's formal approval of that application. The League will not allow the viability of any member team to be threatened by a request for any part of its territory. The League, however, can require a member team to cede territory it has never drawn from and is not likely to draw from in the future.

BushkillTownship - All of the NazarethAreaSchool District north of Rt. 248 and all territory west and

south of Easton, including Bethlehem, Freemansburg, most of northern BucksCounty.

East Stroudsburg - All of EastStroudsburgAreaSchool District and parts of StroudsburgSchool District.

Forks Township–All of Easton Area School District, Nazareth Area School District (unless Bushkill Township rejoins) and Plainfield Township

Franklin Township (PA) – Fields two teams and draws from all of Jim Thorpe and Lehighton Area SchoolDistricts

Panther Valley–All of the Panther Valley School District

Pocono Mountain - All of the townships of Coolbaugh, Barrett, Tobyhanna, Paradise.Pocono and Jackson in thePocono Mountain School District.

Towamensing Township - All of Towamensing and Lower Towamensing Townships, the boroughs of

Palmerton and Bowmanstown. This encompasses all of the Palmerton Area School District.

It is a Babe Ruth requirement that all territory within the League's boundaries is claimed by member teams. Some territory, although assigned to one or several teams, is not being drawn from and therefore is available to new teams from that area. Where a new team falls within the territory of a current member team, the member team can dictate what, if any, of its territory it will cede to the new team. New teams must present, with their application for admission to the League, a detailed description, with a map, of the territory it is requesting. Territory disputes between member teams and teams making application for admission will be settled according to the Keystone Babe Ruth League By-laws.

Keystone Sr. Babe Ruth Baseball League

Breakdown of League Fees

(Based on the 2014 league budget)

Any team not sponsored by an organization will be considered an organization unto itself. Except as indicated below, all fees will be paid either in a lump sum by the February meeting or in installments payable at the February, March and April meetings. Minimum installment amounts are set at the January reorganizational meeting.

The following fees are to be paid by each new organization:

Entry Fee - $100; must be included with the application for admission to the League and is refundable only if League membership is denied. Once an organization is accepted for membership, the entry fee is non-refundable, even if that organization does not field a team for the current season.

Forfeit Escrow Fee - $300; must be paid in full along with the first installment of League fees. This feerepresents the fine for forfeiting three games in a season, currently $100 per game, and is held in escrow until the end of the organization's first season. The escrow will be used to pay fees and fines that come due by virtue of a forfeit if the organization fails to pay those fees and fines by the next meeting after they are incurred. Assuming the organization does not forfeit three games in the season, any balance in the escrow account will be refunded at the end of the season.

The following fees, totaling $395, will be assessed on a per team basis and are mandated by Babe Ruth League, Inc.

General Liability Insurance ($2,000,000) - $107; required by Babe Ruth League, Inc.

Accident Insurance - $213; required by Babe Ruth League, Inc.

Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance - $45; this fee is based on the number of teams in the League asof the February meeting, each paying an equal share of thetotal premium.

National Registration - $25; payable as part of our League Franchise Continuation Agreement

PA State Registration - $5; payable to PA Babe Ruth League. Inc.

The following fees, totaling $205, are assessed on a per team basis by Keystone Babe Ruth League to cover expenses of running the League.

Team Dues - $25; a breakdown of what team dues covers is available from the Treasurer upon request.

Statistician fee- $25

League Administration Fee - $20; a breakdown of what this covers is available from the Treasurer uponrequest.

Scholarship Fund - $25; given to a qualifying player as voted on by the League

Fundraiser Fee - $50

Umpire Assignor Fee - $60; based on the current fee for one umpire for one game.

Total first year fees equal $1,000, of which $300 is returnable with satisfactory completion of the season. The above fees do not cover the payment of per game umpires' fees or any individual team purchases for balls, equipment, etc. Additional assessments must be authorized by the League by majority vote.

League fees are re-evaluated each year and will be adjusted, up or down, to reflect current season needs.

Application for League Admission

Requirements for Team/Organization Membership

• Application to the League shall be received no later than the February meeting of the starting year.
• Team has management and coaching committed, and is able, to field a viable team for the full length ofthe League's season, including post-season play.
• Team has a knowledgeable bookkeeper/statistician.
• Team has regular access to a safe, playable and lined "big league" size field.
• Team has full uniform available for all players and field staff. (Any manager or coach who will at any time enterthe field of play must be in the full uniform of the team.)
• Team/Organization must be willing to claim and draw from a stated and defined territory approved bythe League, a request for which must be attached to this application.
• Team/Organization agrees to abide by all rules set forth by the League and will remain in financial goodstanding as required by League By-laws.
• Team/Organization agrees to pay the $100 Entry Fee with its application. (Entry Fee is refundable until theLeague approves the application and the team/organization accepts membership, even if it does not field a team in its firstseason.)
• To affirm agreement with these requirements and attest to eligibility there under, this application must besigned by the authorized team contact and, where there is a sponsoring organization, the President of thatorganization or his authorized member of that organization's Board of Directors.

Date of Application: ______Starting Season: ______

Name of Team:______

Name of Team Contact: ______

Team Contact Address: ______

Team Contact Phone: ______Team Contact E-mail: ______

Name of Organization (if any): ______

Name of Org. Contact: ______

Org. Contact Address: ______

Org. Contact Phone: ______Org. Contact E-mail: ______

Territory Requested (describe boundaries and outline on area map to be attached to application): ______

Signature of Team Contact: ______

Signature of Organization President: ______

Entry Fee/Map Attached: ______Chk. # ______KBRL Treas. Init. ______

Date of League Accept.: _____Reject.;______KBRL Pres.: ______