Little League is Looking for Outstanding Graduates

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President George W. Bush played in the Midland (Texas) Central Little League. Actor/director Kevin Costner played in the Saticoy Little League in Ventura, Calif. Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt played in the North Riverdale Little League in Dayton, Ohio.

For more than 65 years, Little League’s goal has been to help children become good citizens, through the application of lessons learned as Little Leaguers. Children who learn the values of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play in Little League can take those values with them later in life.

During that time, outstanding people like President George W. Bush, Sen. Bill Bradley, Vice President Dan Quayle, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, actor Kevin Costner, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, singer Bruce Springsteen, and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will have used the ideals learned as Little Leaguers to help them become outstanding leaders.

Do you know of someone who played in your Little League program, or a Little League program near you, who has gone on to reach the pinnacle of their chosen profession? Let us know by sending an e-mail to media@littleleague.org, with the name of the person, their current profession, the name and location of Little League for which they played, years they played, and contact information for them (if available).

Below is a partial list of some of Little League’s most outstanding graduates. If you know someone who belongs on this list, let us know!

Troy Aikman - Former NFL Player
Dave Barry - Pulitzer-Prize Winning Columnist/Author
Bill Bradley - Former U.S. Senator/Rhodes Scholar/Member of NBA Hall of Fame
George W. Bush - Forty-Third President of the United States/Former governor of Texas
William Cohen - Former U.S. Secretary of Defense/Former U.S. Senator
Kevin Costner - Academy-Award Winning Actor/Director
Danny Devito - Professional Actor/Director
Mike Ditka - NFL Hall of Fame Tight End/Former NFL Coach
Chris Drury - NHL Player (played in 1989 Little League Baseball World Series)
Dr. Vincent Fortanasce - Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Neurologist/Professor/Author
Tony Dungy - Former Pro Football Player/Indianapolis Colts Coach
Ray Ferraro - NHL Player (played in 1976 Little League Baseball World Series)
Doug Flutie - NFL Player
Dennis Franz - Professional Actor
Kathy Gerring - Professional Golfer
Rudolph Giuliani - Former Mayor of New York
Billy Hunter - Former NFL Player, Executive Director of NBA Players Association
Hale Irwin - Professional Golfer
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - All-Time Leading Scorer in NBA History
Dirk Kempthorne - U.S. Senator (Idaho)
Huey Lewis - Professional Singer/Songwriter/Entertainer
Joseph Lieberman - U.S. Senator (Connecticut)
Stephane Matteau - NHL Player (played in 1982 Little League Baseball World Series)
Brent Musburger - Sports Broadcaster
Dr. Story Musgrave - NASA Astronaut/Pilot/Hubble Space Telescope Repairer
Mark McGwire - Former Major League Baseball Single-Season HR King
Dan O’Brien - Olympic Decathlon Gold Medal Winner
Gen. Peter Pace - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Combat Veteran
Jim Palmer - Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher
Laffit Pincay, Jr. - National Horse Racing Hall of Fame Jockey
Dan Quayle - Former U.S. Senator/Former Vice President
Kurt Russell - Professional Actor
Nolan Ryan - Major League Baseball’s All Time Strikeout King, Hall of Famer
Turk Schonert - Former NFL Player (played in 1968 Little League Baseball World Series)
H. Lee Scott - President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Tom Seaver - Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher
Tom Selleck - Professional Actor
Brian Sipe - Former NFL Player (played in 1961 Little League Baseball World Series)
Michael Smith - NASA Shuttle Pilot
Bruce Springsteen - Professional Singer/Songwriter/Entertainer
Steve Spurrier - Heisman Trophy Winner/College Football Coach
Dr. Robert Stratta - Transplant Surgeon (played in 1967 Little League Baseball World Series)
Heather Tarr - Head Softball Coach, University of Washington
Al Trautwig - Sports Broadcaster
Pierre Turgeon - NHL Player (played in 1982 Little League Baseball World Series)
Adam Vinatieri - Placekicker for New England Patriots
Krissy Wendell - College Hockey Superstar, Olympic Silver Medal Winner
George Will - Political Analyst/Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist/Author