Letters: Hampton Bays Little League To Celebrate 50 Years

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Hampton Bays Little League Started in 1963

With Spring upon us, these are words that we shall once again hear in our Hamlet.  Boys and girls alike will be oiling up gloves, strapping on cleats and heading to the ball field, just as their parents and, sometimes, grandparents did before them.  For 50 years we have been fortunate to have an outstanding Little League program, so all could enjoy “America’s Pastime.”

Baseball has been played in our country since the 18th century, Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers both played ball to pass free time.  The first children’s clubs were established in the 1880s, but were affiliated with established adult clubs and didn’t catch on.  In the 1920s, the American Legion formed a club for teenaged boys, but it wasn’t until 1938 that pre-teen boys had a chance to participate.  Carl Stotz of Pennsylvania formed teams which became the first Little League Club.  By 1949 leagues were created in neighboring states.  Since the first Little League game was played in 1939, Little League has grown from three teams to nearly 200,000 in all 50 U.S. States and in more than 80 countries worldwide.  The basic goal remains the same today: to provide children the opportunity to participate in a game that provides the fundamental principles of sportsmanship, teamwork and fair play, principles they can use later in life.

In 1953, Youth Baseball was started in our town, but the teams were mostly older boys.  It wasn’t until 1963 that Little League was officially chartered here. Until 1974, girls were not permitted to play Little League.  Today, nationwide, approximately 1 in 7 Little League players are girls.   Little League in Hampton Bays now consists of boys Little League, girls Softball and also handicapped Challenger Divisions.

So, you ask, how did Little League come to Hampton Bays?  Don Ashmore, Harry & Carl Berglin, Bob Elders, Claire Hamilton and George Skidmore were the Charter Members of the Board.

One of the main drivers of Little League was George Skidmore, who is still on the board today.  

— Hampton Bays Historical Society

George Skidmore, The Man Behind It All 

Hi my name is Warren Smith and I’ve been asked to write a few words concerning one of the true “icons” of the Hamlet of Hampton Bays.  If you told me 50 or 60 years ago that this person would attain such status I would have probably done only one thing —I would have chuckled.  The person I am talking about is George “Skidie” Skidmore.

Two things go side-by=side...Little League Baseball and George Skidmore.  Little League baseball started in Hampton Bays in 1963 and will be coming up in its 50th anniversary.  George has been associated with Little League every one of those years and he deserves a great “thank you” from all of us in our community.

However, what is the real story behind this man?  When and where did it all start?  The following is my opinion and the basis of that opinion is that it started during George’s own youth in Hampton Bays.  I was a co-youth witness to George during his young school days.

How could you be late for school when you only lived 100 yards away from the school?  By God, George was!  This especially happened on rainy days, when in full rain ger he braved the windy parking lot to school!  I’ll come back to the topic of “lateness” after a brief info concerning George. 

The 1953 HBHS yearbook picture of George as a senior has a very informative saying, “Wit is Priceless”, under it.  George was the jokester of the class—and many of his classmates made mention of that in the yearbook.

George was the leader of one of the most famous “lateness” capers in the school’s history.  Mrs. Betty Jackson, one of the most beloved teachers in the history of Hampton Bays, and the founder of the one-room library where our current library is located, was a “victim” of George and his crew.  Mrs. Jackson screamed at George and his crew, who were standing in the school parking lot, that they must not be late for the afternoon bell after lunch.  If they were late, she was going to “lock them out” of her classroom.

Well, George and his gang climbed up the fire-escape latter, over and down a couple of roofs and into the rear window of Mrs. Jackson’s classroom.  When Mrs. Jackson unlocked the door—much to her surprise—they were all seated at their desks.

George did not play baseball in High School, but was a member of the bowling and tennis teams.  From 1950-54, I was fortunate to be on a few High School championship teams, and we had a couple of young kids (8-10 year s old) who liked to shag flies with us in the outfield.  One of them was a boy named Wayne Penny, who lived directly across from the school and diagonally across from the Skidmore house.  When leaving school after practice, I noticed Wayne and George having a catch nearly every day.  I believe that this was the start of George helping a younger boy learn the game and George loved that feeling.  I believe George has carried that “fire” in his heart for all these years just to help a young boy learn the game and to Play Ball!

— Warren Smith, Historical Society member

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