For John Stanton, his love of baseball all started on the Little League® fields in Bellevue, Washington, in the mid 1960s. A well-respected executive in the wireless communications industry, baseball and Little League has weaved throughout his entire life. Coaching his sons from the late 1990s through the early 2000s on the same Bellevue (Wash.) West Little League fields on which he played, Stanton joined the Seattle Mariners ownership group in December of 2000, and was named as Chairman & Managing Partner in August of 2016. A dedicated philanthropist and ardent supporter of Little League programs throughout the Pacific Northwest, Stanton was enshrined as the 66th member of the Little League Hall of Excellence during his visit to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the 2025 MLB Little League Classic, Presented by New York Life, on August 17.
“There is, perhaps, no club in all of Major League Baseball that supports their community Little League programs as much as the Seattle Mariners. In addition, Mr. Stanton, as Chairman & Managing Partner, has been an incredible leader and role model his entire life for generations of Little Leaguers,” said Steven P. Johnson, Little League International Board of Directors Chairman. “We are honored to recognize Mr. Stanton’s professional accomplishments, as well as his volunteerism, community-minded spirit, and dedication to our organization’s core values, with enshrinement in the Little League Hall of Excellence.”
A lifelong resident of the Seattle area, Stanton has had an illustrious career in the wireless communications industry. During the 1980s, he served as chief operating officer and vice chairman of McCaw Cellular before becoming the chairman and chief executive officer of Western Wireless Corp. Stanton subsequently served as the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of VoiceStream Wireless, which was acquired by Deutsche Telekom and eventually renamed T-Mobile USA. He also served as director and later chairman of Clearwire Corp. from 2008 to 2013. Formerly the chairman of Trilogy International Partners, Stanton also serves on the Boards of Microsoft and Costco Wholesale, and he’s been leading the Mariners since 2016. At Bellevue West Little League, he coached his sons Timothy and Patrick, throughout their time in the league, including multiple tournament teams. Both Timothy and Patrick would go on to play baseball throughout their college careers.
“I am humbled by this amazing honor,” Stanton said. “For me, Little League is about family and fun. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of playing catch with my father, and one of my most cherished memories as a father is coaching my sons in Little League. They both played four years of college baseball, but if asked, they both would say the most fun they had in baseball was Little League. Our connection with Little League is very much part of the Mariners service to our communities, and we’re proud to know that in 2026, our 50th season, we will surpass one million Little Leaguers having an on-field experience with the Mariners in a Major League ballpark.”
The Seattle Mariners have been richly engrained into the Little League culture of the Pacific Northwest for nearly half a century. For 38 seasons, they have been integrating local Little Leaguers® to their ballpark for multiple Little League Days, including a special Challenger-only game, at which you can often find Stanton in attendance, to make sure these important players have a welcoming spotlight. They estimate that 950,000 Little Leaguers have been recognized over those 38 years and approximately 24,000 will be recognized at T-Mobile Park this season. They have been an inspiration to our expanded Little League Days program that has been incorporated in many clubs through our Major League Baseball relationship, which expanded to also include Minor League Baseball starting in 2024.
The Mariners support locally has extended to our Junior League Softball World Series in Kirkland, Washington, where the Mariner Moose is a fixture, and, dating back to 1980, they were the first Major League Baseball Club to make a donation in support of the creation of the World of Little League® Museum. Plus, their connection with the Little League program will grow even deeper as they play in the eighth MLB Little League Classic, led by their manager, Dan Wilson, who played in the 1981 Little League Baseball® World Series for the Central Region Champions from Barrington, Illinois.
To learn more about Little League’s notable alumni, visit LittleLeague.org/Alumni. If you know of a notable Little League graduate that is not listed on our website, please fill out our Little League Alumni Submission Form.
About the Little League® Hall of Excellence
Established in 1988, enshrinement into the Little League® Hall of Excellence is conducted annually for a Little League graduate (or graduates) who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their chosen profession and exemplify the values learned as children in Little League. Enshrinement into the Little League Hall of Excellence is the highest honor that Little League can bestow.
Located in the sixth inning of the World of Little League® Museum, multiple exhibits display the tremendous accomplishments that these Hall of Excellence enshrinees have achieved as well as never before seen artifacts and displays from these iconic Little Leaguers®.