The American Legion is committed to America's youth and that is why we have sponsored American Legion Baseball since 1925. The goals of American Legion Baseball are the development of team discipline, individual character and leadership development qualities in young people.
American Legion Baseball is the oldest and largest, nationwide, baseball program in America. American Legion Baseball became a National program in 1925. Over ten million teenagers have played American Legion Baseball since its inception. The first National Championship tournament was held in 1926. In 1998, 5,083 teams were registered for National tournament play.
Nearly 90,000 players, ages 15 to 19, participated in 2009. Since 1985, over 1,400 new teams have registered to play American Legion Baseball. American Legion Posts also support and sponsor some 2,500 younger-age teams who are registered with Little League Babe Ruth, Pony, Dixie, etc. On an average, 65 percent of Major League Baseball players played American Legion Baseball as teenagers. Nearly 75 percent of all college players played American Legion Baseball as teenagers.
Since 1926, Major League Baseball has honored The American Legion World Series Champions at The Major League World Series. The Commissioner's Office annually presents a plaque to The American Legion champions on the field at The Major League World Series. The 2009 National Championship team, from Midland, MI, attended two games in New York and was presented the Commissioner's Award.
The American Legion Player of the Year is honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum with a plaque at the annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.
The average annual budget for teams participating in league play is $12,000. The average annual budget for teams winning their state tournament is $20,000. Over seventeen million dollars is spent annually by local American Legion Posts to sponsor these athletic teams.
The American Legion National Headquarters spends approximately 1.2 million dollars annually to operate and host 64 teams that qualify for the National Tournament. Each year, 1,500 players and coaches on 64 teams compete at eight Regional Tournaments.
The American Legion is the only amateur program that funds 100 percent of the cost for hotels, transportation, meals, umpires and baseballs for our National tournaments.
Major League Baseball has supported our program annually since 1926 and currently contributes $25,000 (3 percent of the National budget), which helps offset tournament expenses for American Legion teams at Regional and World Series Tournaments.
