Baseball Game Between the American Legion and Worthington Moose Lodge Teams, 1950s

This black-and-white photograph shows a baseball game in action between the American Legion and Worthington Moose Lodge Little League teams, circa the 1950s. The game most likely took place at one of the diamonds in the Hartford athletic field, bounded by Hartford Street, East Stafford Avenue, and Morning Street. The photograph is taken from the perspective of home plate, with the batter swinging. Visible on the right is a crowd of spectators, both on a small stand of bleachers and sitting on the ground.

“The Worthington News” documented the development of Little League baseball in Worthington. An article in the April 16, 1953 newspaper advertised baseball tryouts for the league that upcoming Saturday: “The baseball prowess of boys eight through 12 years of age in the greater Worthington area will be unveiled Saturday afternoon as the first tryout of the Official Little League Baseball program here gets underway on the Morning-Stafford field.” More than 350 boys in the area signed up for the tryouts, which were conducted by the Cardinal Boosters’ Little League Organization. Boys ages 13-15 were eligible for the Little Bigger League.

The June 3, 1954 “Worthington News” published the standing of the “Little Major League,” which included the following teams: Maxton Chevrolet, American Legion, Worthington Moose Lodge and Sharon Square. Maxton Chevrolet led the pack, with a tally of four wins, zero losses.

The July 18, 1957 “Worthington News” reflected on the history of the league in Worthington: “In the winter of 1952 a small group of men who had helped to form the Cardinal Boosters to lend support to sports and recreation endeavors in the district, met to discuss baseball.

“A baseball program had been started the year before. At the close of that first year, Bob Morrow was commissioned to study the Little League program and report how it worked to this group.

“Hearing Morrow’s report, the group after much discussion, decided to try the program here.

“It worked from the beginning. The only thing that never developed like it has in other communities is a regular baseball center with dugouts, outfield fence, and other desirable features of a baseball park.

“Yet Worthington has more baseball diamonds than most communities…Little League is played officially at the Stafford-Morning diamond, where a group of men several years ago built permanent bleachers. The field has been used for baseball for many years.”