Approved by Commissioner of Major League Baseball Albert B. Chandler, National League President Ford Frick, and American League President Will Harridge, “This is Little League” is a circa 1950 black-and-white film promoting Little League Baseball. The film was produced by the United States Rubber Company Keds Sports Department, and it’s noted that department’s director is Frank Leahy, the famed football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive who served as the head football coach at Boston College and at the University of Notre Dame.
The film opens at Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and introduces its founder, Carl Stotz, at mark 00:30. (Stotz established Little League Baseball in 1939). Stotz wastes no time in explaining the league, “and what it means to boys everywhere.” He describes Little League as a non-profit community project in which entire families are encouraged to participate. Designed for boys between the ages of 9 and 12, it offers the youths planned recreation, Stotz explains, as well as teaching good sportsmanship and teamwork on and off the field. He shows the viewer the “official” layout of a Little League playing field, detailing the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate and the distance between bases, and noting that its popularity has spread across the United States and spread to Canada, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The program takes manpower, he continues at mark 02:55, for leadership and guidance of the young players. “We should remember always that Little League belongs to the boys, and that the purpose of Little League to let them play ball. Big League ball for the Little League way. Properly planned and supervised. We can’t do too much for our boys. They’re only young once,” says Stotz.
The film moves to an army of boys preparing a field for what soon become a baseball diamond and outfield — all under adult supervision — and then onto an examination of the equipment needed to play ball. From a player with only one leg to one who overcame polio, boys are shown practicing their pitches and at mark 06:10 visiting Yankee Stadium, where they are shown playing a few innings in the House that Ruth built prior to the Bronx Bombers taking on the Chicago White Sox. At mark 07:00, the viewer is transported to the 1950 Little League World Series in Williamsport, where arriving regional championship teams are greeted by a brass band. National League President Ford Frick arrives for the festivities at mark 07:45, along with Baseball Hall of Fame Vice President Paul Kerr and US Senator James H. Duff from Pennsylvania. The view sees footage from the tournament’s quarterfinals (starting at mark 08:30), a visit to the top of Bald Eagle Mountain, and a parade in their honor, before returning to the game and the semi-finals match-up at mark 11:30. By the championship game, its Texas versus Connecticut, with the first pitch at mar 15:05 and the film continuing on with the game, until the Houston claims the World Series title at mark 22:08.
