It’s time for a party on the diamonds in McLean.
This spring, McLean Little League will kick off its 50th Anniversary season with a dinner dance on March 5 at the Westwood Country Club, complete with an anthology of the past half-century, told through stories and photographs from former players, staff and lovers of the game.
“This is the oldest non-business organization in McLean as far as nonprofit organizations go,” said Paul Shiffman, chairman of the dinner.
The League was formed in 1955, known as the Chesterbrook Little League in those days, and games were played at the Chesterbrook Presbyterian Church until 1960, when a wooded area on Westmoreland Street was purchased for $14,000 through a loan from the league.
“We’re pretty independent. We’re one of the few leagues that own their own diamonds,” Shiffman said.
Both the boys and girls teams have risen to prominence in the past few years, with the girls team going to the World Series in Oregon last spring. Although the girls ultimately lost the series, they returned home heroes. The boys 11- and 12-year-old teams have won titles in district championships.
All of the players will wear a 50th Anniversary patch on their jerseys to commemorate the occasion, Shiffman said.
Bob Hampton has been involved in the organization for 40 of the 50 years of McLean Little League.
“I have a strong liking for youngsters and baseball,” he said. “The fringe benefit of being involved is being able to meet so many exceptional people.”
For the 50th Anniversary book, Ron Shafter, a former writer with the Wall Street Journal, was once again enlisted to help assemble the anthology, which he has done in the past with the 30- and 40-year books.
“We decided to put a hardcover binding on it this time, to dress it up a bit,” Hampton said. “The book will reiterate a lot of history from the 30- and 40-year books but will also focus on changes in the past 10 years, including the addition of the new clubhouse building.”
As the years have passed, the organization has grown from fewer than 200 players to over 1,000 this year, which means the fields, once spacious and very open, have become a little crowded.
“It’s a social club, and the crowded fields contribute to the feeling of togetherness we all have,” Hampton said. “It (baseball)enables the youngsters to develop a sense of concentration. That’s a quality you learn from baseball that you can’t from watching television.”