[August 24, 2014] It was apparently not very newsworthy but yesterday the USA Little League World Championship was played in its traditional location Williamsport, Pennsylvania. What is so amazing about the win is that for the first time a team from Chicago won the title and a team from the “Urban Initiative” out of the south-side of Chicago.1 This took vision and hard work from many dedicated and passionate baseball fans to put the team together and build a baseball culture in Chicago. At one time, little league baseball was not popular in Chicago’s south side.
Now they have a winning team and their community is rightly fully proud of the achievements of the Jacky Robinson Little League Team. It was an exciting game to watch. I accidently ran across it when visiting a friend in Staten Island, New York during a late afternoon of grilling burgers. The neighborhood where my friend lives was mostly Italian but they were all having a great time and happy to see Chicago win against the Las Vegas Mountain Ridge team.
This win was no simple task. Money and baseball equipment did not make it happen. Community fans of little league baseball building upon an American tradition of baseball, never giving up, and many long hours of practice by the coaches and players are what made it possible.
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