| Most recent season or competition: 2024 | |
 | |
| Sport | Baseball, softball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder | Carl E. Stotz |
| First season | 1939 |
| CEO | Stephen D. Keener |
| COO | Patrick Wilson |
| Director | David Houseknecht, CFO |
| Claim to fame | Largest organized youth sports organization in the world |
| Motto | Character, Courage, and Loyalty |
| No. of teams | over 180,000 |
| Competitors | 2,600,000 |
| Qualification | Little League International Tournament |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, ESPN2, ABC; Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), New England Sports Network (NESN) |
| Official website | www |
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc[1]) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[2][3] based in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, (United States), that organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the United States and the rest of the world.
Founded by Carl Edwin Stotz (1910-1992), in 1938 / 1939 as a three-team league in further north in the adjacent larger town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, (and county seat of surrounding Lycoming County, Pennsylvania). His ensuing Little League organization was incorporated on October 10, 1950, and Stotz served as first commissioner for 18 years until 1955.[1] Little League Baseball encourages local volunteers to organize and operate Little League franchise programs that are annually chartered through Little League International. Each local league can structure itself to best serve the children in the area in which the league operates. Several specific divisions of Little League baseball and softball are available to children and adolescents ages 4 to 16. The organization holds a congressional charter authorized by the United States Congress under Title 36 of the United States Code.[4]
The organization's administrative office is located in South Williamsport of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The first Little League Baseball World Series was played in Williamsport in 1947. The Little League International Complex in South Williamsport hosts the annual tournament of the Little League Baseball World Series at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and adjacent Little League Volunteer Stadium, and is also the site of the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum, which provides a history of Little League Baseball and Softball through interactive exhibits for children. Many Major League Baseball (MLB) players past and present in the National League and American League have started out playing in their local community / neighborhood Little Leagues.
- ^ a b "Little League Baseball Inc". Corporation Search. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "Little League Baseball Inc, EIN: 23-1688231". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Little League Baseball Incorporated. Guidestar. September 30, 2017.
- ^ Section 130501(a) of Title 36 of the United States Code provides that Little League Baseball, Incorporated is a "federally chartered corporation".