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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (June 16, 2006) – A Little League Tee Ball team
composed of children of McGuire Air Force Base (N.J) personnel will
square off against a team from a U.S. Navy submarine base in Groton,
Conn., for the first Air Force-Navy “Tee Ball on the South Lawn”
game on June 23, it was announced today in Washington, D.C., by
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.
In keeping with the tradition of Tee Ball on the South Lawn games,
no score will be kept between the McGuire Air Force Base Little
League Yankees and the Dolcom Little League Indians of Naval
Submarine Base New London. Every player on both teams will play on
defense and bat once in the one-inning game, to be followed by a
picnic on the South Lawn for players and families. A baseball
autographed by President George W. Bush will be presented – by the
president himself – to each player, manager, and coach. Game time is
1:20 p.m.
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The McGuire Air Force Base (N.J.) Yankees (top
photo) will take on the Dolcom Little League Indians of Naval
Submarine Base New London of Groton, Conn., on Friday,
June 23, in the 14th Tee Ball on the South Lawn game, at the
White House in Washington, D.C. |
The game is the 14th on the South Lawn of the White House since May
6, 2001, when President Bush began the initiative as a way to boost
interest in baseball among children and parents. Little League
Baseball and Softball, the largest youth sports program in the
world, has seen registration numbers increase so far this year by
more than 7,000 players. Final numbers for the year will not be
available until August.
President Bush, the first former Little Leaguer to be elected to the
nation’s highest office, played Little League Baseball at Central
Little League in Midland, Texas, in the mid-1950s. He was on the
Cubs, and was a catcher. In 2001, President Bush was enshrined in
the Little League Museum Hall of Excellence when he visited the
Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
The honorary commissioner for the game will be U.S. Joint Chiefs of
Staff Chairman, Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Gen. Pace also is a Little
League graduate, having played in Teaneck, N.J. He also was
enshrined in the Little League Museum Hall of Excellence when he
visited the Little League Baseball World Series in 2003.
The honorary base coaches will be the two military installation
commanders: Air Force Col. Rick Martin and Navy Capt. Sean Sullivan.
The public address announcer will be ABC Sports personality Tim
Brant, also a former Little Leaguer.
This will be the first game of 2006, and the third to feature teams
composed largely of dependents of military personnel. On June 22,
2003, teams from Fort Belvoir (Va.) Little League and Naval Station
Norfolk (Va.) played in the first Army-Navy Tee Ball on the South
Lawn game. On June 13, 2004, teams from Bolling Air Force Base
(Washington, D.C.) and Cherry Point (N.C.) Marine Corps Air Station
played at the White House.
Little League Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest youth
sports organization, with nearly 2.7 million children participating
in every U.S. state and dozens of other countries on six continents.
Little League is the only youth sports organization to be chartered
by the U.S. Congress.
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