American Legion Baseball’s commitment to Citizenship Through Sportsmanship reflected in those alumni who succeed at the game’s highest level.
Were it not for Major League Baseball, American Legion Baseball might never have made it to its centennial.
Following a successful first American Legion World Series in 1926, the Legion’s depleted finances in 1927 — due to the expenses of that year’s national convention in Paris — led to the cancellation of the ALWS in 1927.
Determined to keep American Legion Baseball afloat, Americanism Director Dan Sowers convinced MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to donate $50,000 annually to help fund the program. American Legion Baseball was back on, and save for the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, it has been a summer staple ever since.
While the relationship between MLB and ALB has changed over the years, the youth program continues to serve as a pathway to the major leagues for some of the game’s top stars.
On July 27, the number of former Legion Baseball players enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame will reach 89 when CC Sabathia (Post 550/Vallejo, Calif.) and the late Dick Allen (Post 749/Wampum, Pa.) are among the Class of 2025.
They’ll likely be joined in the next few years by Albert Pujols (Post 340/Independence, Mo.), who will become eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 2028. Pujols reflected on his Legion Baseball experience in this video.
Up-and-coming stars like Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (Post 47/Waynesville, N.C.) also honed their talents in Legion Baseball; check out Raleigh’s shoutout to Legion Baseball on its centennial here.
And the next generation is on its way. Brooks Bryan, the 2022 American Legion Baseball Player of the Year, went from leading Troy (Ala.) Post 70 to that year’s American Legion World Series title to a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist for Troy University to an eighth-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in this year’s MLB Draft.
All told, thousands of Legion Baseball alumni have gone on to play Major League Baseball, and many others have had the chance to see the MLB World Series in person as a perk of winning the American Legion World Series.
“To see guys who were once in my position make it to the biggest stage in baseball shows that if you have the right mindset you can make it anywhere in life,” Texarkana (Ark.) Post 58’s Nick Myers said when his team were guests at the 2016 World Series.
As MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a letter congratulating the program on its centennial: “As our sport continues to grow and becomes even stronger in our communities, I am proud to count the participants in American Legion Baseball as members of the baseball family. I look forward to seeing all that they will accomplish and know they will set a proper example for the young ballplayers who will follow in their footsteps. We are grateful for your contributions as ambassadors for our sport. All of us at MLB applaud you for being a part of a century of American Legion Baseball.”
- Baseball