MyThreeSons Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 We are thrilled that a team from our area is playing in the Little League World Series. Three of the kids on the team are members of our homeschool Co-op. And much is being made of the fact that this is the first team from SC to win a LLWS game in 60 years. The sad truth behind this statistic, though, is that a big part of the reason for that is that there are relatively few Little League teams in SC, because 60 years ago, the Dixie League was formed so that white kids wouldn't have to play against black kids. In fact, today there are still no Little League baseball teams in our county, or the one next to us, where most of dh's family lives. There are many articles available online that discuss the beginnings of the Dixie League, originally called Little Boys Baseball. Here is one such article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=2126814 But here is a classic example of revisionist history at work. Just as the Civil War is presented as a states' rights cause, some still want to present the formation of the Dixie League in the same light: "The most fundamental intent of Little Boys Baseball, Inc. was to develop a program which would emphasize local autonomy. They believed that the workers and parents in the local programs and would know what was best for them and their children." (Quoted from this site: http://franklintondixiebaseball.webs.com/historyofdixieyouth.htm ) What a crock of baloney! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 That may be (I'm sure it is--not doubting you a bit), but Little League in our area has been mostly run out by parks legitimately wanting to play under different baseball rules than Little League imposes; LL was very slow to permit new types of bats, for instance, and many kids just want to practice and play more baseball than LL rules permit. Most of the recreational parks now play Dizzy Dean, and by 10 or 11, most of the kids pull out of rec ball entirely to play on travel teams that answer to no one. The LL World Series cannot possibly mean what it used to mean now that most of the talented players are not even in the system by the time they are 10 or 11, and definitely not by 12. My county of 650,000 in metro Atlanta only has two true LL parks, one of which is very small, and youth baseball is HUGE here. LL has faded for many reasons; I don't know if segregation was one of the impetuses here, but it is definitely not the driver these days. As a testament to what LL used to be here, my neighborhood backs up to a park that won the LLWS back in the 80s. My son played LL there for several seasons, and today, they have a devil of a time even filling younger teams. They can't compete for rec players with the Dizzy Dean park up the road. Most people (not the OP, just generally) don't understand that Little League is not synonymous with "youth baseball." There are several national-level youth baseball leagues, of which Little League is one, and then there is the Wild, Wild West of travel ball, independent teams that play whenever and wherever and however they want, with the only rules imposed by the directors of the tournaments in which they play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I agree that the history of it - and the name- is awful. There is only one little league in our area and it is not a place I chose to have my play. Dixie youth, while being started for a horrible reason, is a much more diverse league here. (I believe that you know where I live.) It also uses rules that are closer to traditional baseball. A Dixie youth player the same as as a little league player is on a much larger field, pitching from a greater distance, and running farther to the bases. We Have moved past rec ball, but Little League - at least in our are- is not one I'd recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Statements about the quality of play in other youth leagues, rules variations, etc. may all be true today. But at the time the Dixie League was formed, there was one issue: the founders didn't want to play with or against black players, and they would have to do that if they stayed in Little League. To sugarcoat it as "local autonomy" is disingenuous, at best. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Statements about the quality of play in other youth leagues, rules variations, etc. may all be true today. But at the time the Dixie League was formed, there was one issue: the founders didn't want to play with or against black players, and they would have to do that if they stayed in Little League. To sugarcoat it as "local autonomy" is disingenuous, at best. But if LL offered a competitive product, you would have LL teams in your county today regardless of the origins of the Dixie League. Black and white baseball families would clamor for it. They don't, because there are better alternatives out there. Just because the Dixie League was started for segregationist reasons doesn't mean it is still racist today. Maybe it is--I don't know; I'd never heard of it until this post. But my experience is that racism is not the reason there are so few LL teams today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 That would make me nuts too. Why not just say, "The league was formed in response to integration attempts back in ****. It moved beyond its questionable heritage though by beginning to accept non-white players in **** and has since had a decades long policy and practice of welcoming all." 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Yes- you are right. They shouldn't pretend that the reason it was created was honorable in any way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Yes- you are right. They shouldn't pretend that the reason it was created was honorable in any way. Yes -- this is my point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.