In 1958 Bellefonte’s Boys of Summer Won the Little League State Championship  

“They couldn’t have gone this far without teamwork, it’s one of the closest teams I’ve seen in our league.  Whether the boys are playing or on the bench they seem to be right in the middle of every game, playing all the time for the good of the team.” - Harold Rossman, Bellefonte Manager - Little League All Stars Stop Brownsville. (1958, August 4). Centre Daily Times, p9.  

“They’re still very young and if you keep this in mind you’ll all leave the tournament quite happy  and feel like you had a good time.” - John Lindemuth, 1958 Pa. Little League State Tournament Director made this remark at opening ceremonies - No Individual Stars - They’re All Important. (1958, August 13). Centre Daily Times, p10.  

District 10 Little Loops Start Tourney Monday. (1958, July 11). Centre Daily Times, p10.

All Star Rosters Chosen

District 10 Little Loops Start Tourney Monday

State College and Snow Shoe will be the scenes of first round action in the 1958 District 10 Little League Tournament Monday at 6pm.

All Star rosters from the area’s four leagues – Nittany Valley, Bellefonte, Bi-County and Mountain-Top have been chosen and these four leagues will clash Monday.

Pairings find the Nittany Valley loop pitted against Bi-County at State College and Bellefonte going against Mountain Top at Snow Shoe.

Winners of the two games will meet either at the Legion field in State College or at the Bi-County field in Port Matilda on Thursday.  Then, next Monday an area team will play at one of the four league’s fields against a team from the Philipsburg-Osceola area.  Finals are slated for July 24.

District 10’s winner will go on to the Section 2 playoffs which begin July 29 and run through August 2.

The all star rosters from the area leagues: 

Bellefonte: Bellefonte Motor Sales – Rodney Mitchell, Charles Fletemake and William Foresman; Decker Motors – Larry Conaway, Thomas Crater, Ronald Howard and John Sodergren; Keckler Chevrolet – Dennis Leathers, Thomas Greib, Dennis Lose and Denny Kahle; Lions – Gary Kellogg, Michael Ranio Jr. and Barry Burger…

Bellefonte Midgets Win, 13-1; Face Valley Today. (1958, July 17). Centre Daily Times, p10. 

Bellefonte Midgets Win, 13-1; Face Valley Today

Unleashing a powerful 12-hit attack, the Bellefonte Little League all star team beat Mt. Top Little Leaguers, 13-1, at Snow Shoe last night and earned a shot at the Nittany Valley stars tonight at Legion field in State College.

The Bellefonte Sluggers went into the second round of the District 10 tournament in much the same fashion as their neighbors from the Valley loop.

Nittany Valley earned its shot at the second round with a 17-0 lacing of the Bi-County stars.

The Bellefonte – Mt. Top game had been delayed for two days because of rain.  Game time today was to have been 6pm.

Bellefonte’s stars got off to a rousing 10-0 lead in the first two innings.  Mt. Top made its bid in the lower part of the third inning, scoring its lone run.

Bellefonte added insurance tallies in the fourth and fifth innings.

Powerful hitting by both Little League all star teams indicate tonight’s battle will probably be a close but high-scoring affair.

The winner of tonight’s game moves into the tournament’s third round and will face a team from the Philipsburg-Osceola area.  The winner of the District 10 tournament will have earned the right to play in the Section 2 tournament from July 29 through August 2.

Bellefonte’s stars got off to a rousing 10-0 lead in the first two innings.  Mt. Top made its bid in the lower part of the third inning, scoring its lone run.

Bellefonte added insurance tallies in the fourth and fifth innings.

Powerful hitting by both Little League all star teams indicate tonight’s battle will probably be a close but high-scoring affair.

The winner of tonight’s game moves into the tournament’s third round and will face a team from the Philipsburg-Osceola area.  The winner of the District 10 tournament will have earned the right to play in the Section 2 tournament from July 29 through August 2.

Bellefonte Little League Stars Edge Valley, 1-0. (1958, July 18). Centre Daily Times, p 10.

Bellefonte Little League Stars Edge Valley, 1-0

Area Little League fans got a real treat last night when in a near-perfect game, Bellefonte’s all star team moved into District 10’s tournament semifinals with a heart-stopping 1-0 win over Nittany Valley.

The Bellefonte team scored its run in the top half of the sixth inning after both teams had gone scoreless for five frames.  Bellefonte now must play Philipsburg to gain the tourney finals.

Bellefonte out-hit the Valley Stars 4-2 while the loser thrilled the crowd with a pair of crisp double plays to quell Bellefonte rallies.

The semi-final tilt is scheduled for Monday at the Little League field in Bellefonte at 6 pm.  Winner of the Bellefonte-Philipsburg game will play in the finals of the District 10 tournament the winner of which earns a shot at the Sector 2 tournament later in the month.

The Philipsburg team advanced to the semi-final round by winning an 8-7 slugfest over Clearfield at Clearfield last night.

Bellefonte in Semi-Finals of State Tourney. (1958, July 19). Centre Daily Times, p 5. 

Bellefonte in Semi-Finals of State Tourney

All stars from the Bellefonte Little League slip under the spotlight again Monday when they tangle with the hard-hitting outfit from Philipsburg at Bellefonte at 6 p.m.  

The game constitutes the semi finals of the District 10 Little League all star tournament.

The winner will face the winner of the northern half of the District in a game between Keadin and Norwich for the District championship, probably in Clearfield.

The Bellefonte stars must win over Philipsburg Monday to earn a crack at the District title and eventually a ticket to Williamsport for the state championship.

Monday’s game figures to be a key contest for both teams.  Bellefonte got a chance to play in the game after beating Nittany Valley in a 1-0 thriller at State College Tuesday.  The Philipsburg nine also won its quarter-final game by one run 8-7 over Clearfield, scoring three runs in the last inning to edge its close rival nine.

Little Loop Stars Play 4th Contest. (1958, July 24). Centre Daily Times, p12. 

Little Loop Stars Play 4th Contest 

Three postseason playoff notches already carved on its gun, the Bellefonte Little League all star baseball team aims at the District 10 championship in a game against Punxsutawney scheduled at the field in Bellefonte today at 6 p.m. It is a case of North vs South in this one.  By virtue of its wins over Bi-County, Nittany Valley and Clearfield the Bellefonte 9 earned the title of northern champ while Punxsutawney’s trio of victories labeled its team southern champ.

The winner of today’s contest moves on to the Section 2 tournament scheduled for Latrobe July 31, August 1 and 2.

Thus there remains four more rungs in the Bellefonte team’s climb to a shot at the state crown in Williamsport in August.

All but for the game it won 1-0 over Nittany Valley the Bellefonte stars have a reputation for being heavy hitters.

In its three wins so far the team has collected a total of 25 hits and 23 runs while allowing its opposition only two runs and six hits.

Last night marked the second 1-0 win for the Bellefonte stars.  They beat Nittany Valley, 1-0, in the tournament quarter-finals at State College.  They won the rest by wider margins, beating Bi-County, 13-1, in the opener and drubbing Philipsburg, 9-1, in the semi-finals. “Our team played one of its better games of the year,” said manager Harold Rossman after the game, “but they almost had to.  The Punxsutawney team was a sharp outfit, especially on defense.

“A lot of our drives, which would have been hits in most games, found their way into Punxsutawney gloves and were turned into outs.”

Rossman said the team will practice all next week in preparation for the Latrobe tournament.

‘We’re going to hold pretty much the same kind of drills as we’ve had all season because I don’t believe in over-practicing.  That team from Philipsburg practiced all morning before the semifinal game and by game time had gone stale.”

The champs will leave Bellefonte Thursday by automobile.  They’ll arrive in Latrobe about 2 pm. Registration and pairings for the state tourney begin at 3:15 that day.

Then they play in the tournament’s first round on Friday.  Should they win they’ll move into Saturday’s finals.  If they lose they will play in the consolation game Saturday.

If Bellefonte walks off with the Section title, they’ll move on to Williamsport the following week for the state tournament.

“The team is very pleased about being the District 10 champs,” Rossman added, “but they know there is work ahead in getting ready for the Latrobe tournament.  They’re anxious to win again but they realize that the competition will be very keen as they move farther along the line.”  

The Brownsville team is from District 9 near Pittsburg.  It got into the sectional tournament by whipping Natrona Heights 5-1 to win its district title.

“The team played a fine game,” Rossman added, “you couldn’t ask for more.  The Huntingdon club has a lot to be proud of too. I was especially pleased with the showing of the Bellefonte team’s defense.  It should be a help tomorrow.”

The winner of today’s game earns a shot at the state crown.  The tournament for the state title will be in Williamsport August 19-22. The winner of the state tournament goes to New York City for the National Championships later in August.

There will be a consolation game between Huntingdon and Bell-Avon today at 3:45 p.m..

Little League All Stars Stop Brownsville, 3-0 Headed for Williamsport. (1958, August 4). Centre Daily Times, p9. 

Little League All Stars Stop Brownsville, 3-0 Headed for Williamsport

Bellefonte’s 14 Little League all stars, champions of far flung Section 2, won’t go near a baseball diamond today.

Manager Harold Rossman figures after the stars six game march to the title, they’ve earned a well-deserved rest.  The climax of Bellefonte’s drive came Saturday when the stars wrapped up the four-team Latrobe tournament with a 3-0 win over Brownsville.

“They’ve lived nothing but baseball for the past couple of weeks,” Rossman said after watching his charges whip a tough Brownsville nine, “and now they deserve a rest.”  

The vacation ends tomorrow night when the stars begin tuning up for the state tournament  in Williamsport Friday and Saturday.  That tournament brings together the state’s four Section champs, all of which have earned berths by winning tourneys similar to the Latrobe series.

“We’ll work out about the same for the state tournament as we have since the all star playoffs began,” Rossman said.

The Brownsville midgets, champions of District 9, near Pittsburg, got into the finals by beating the Bell-Avon entry in the semi-finals.

“Some of our boys were a little anxious before the final game,” Rossman explained, “but I told them they’d be playing  against boys their age and size and that both teams in the finals were champions.

“They went out and played one of their best games of the season.  Brownsville had a good team but we got the hits and breaks in the right places.

“I don’t want to take anything away from our team, they played championship ball and beat a good club.”

Rossman and Bellefonte’s large following were impressed and pleased with the number of people from Latrobe, which is closer to Brownsville and Bell-Avon (both near Pittsburg) than Bellefonte, that were rooting for the players in the final.

Rossman recalled what Ed Steck, president of the Latrobe Little League said.  “The Bellefonte boys are well-behaved and friendly in addition to being a good ball club.”

Thus the stars, who’ve plunged further into all star playoffs than any other team in Centre County’s 10 year history of Little League, became the third team entered in the state tournament.

Teams from Jessup and Phoenixville are already in the state tourney along with Bellefonte.  The Fourth team will come from Section 1 but that tournament won’t be over until Tuesday.

Bellefonte will play the champs of Section 1 in the first round of the Williamsport tournament.  If the stars win they’ll tangle with either Jessup or Phoenixville, which play Friday at 6pm.  Bellefonte’s first-round game will be at 3 pm.

Finals are scheduled Saturday 3 pm with a consolation game at 11 am.

Should Bellefonte win the state title it would go on to the Regional tournament to be played in Staten Island, N. Y. August 14 through 16.  The winner of the Regional tournament plays in the Little League World Series at Williamsport August 19 through 22.

“The victory at Latrobe comes as a reward for the boys and the people of Bellefonte who devoted so much time to Little League,” Rossman said, “cooperation has been good all year and spirit running high within the community.”

Although the team is made up of members of separate teams it didn’t take much to get them functioning as one team.

“They couldn’t have gone this far without team work,” Rossman said, “it’s one of the closest teams I’ve seen in our league.  “Whether the boys are playing or on the bench they seem to be right in the middle of every game, playing all the time for the good of the team.”

Large Crowd Cheers Bellefonte Little League. (1958, August 4). Centre Daily Times, p1. 

‘Run, Billy, Run, You’re an All-Star:’

Large Crowd Cheers Bellefonte Little League Players After Win

Small, tired and happy boys climbed out of cars on the Diamond in Bellefonte at midnight Saturday and looked about sleepily.

The Bellefonte High School band struck up a march, jubilant parents wept a little and the large crowd cheered.

The Little League All Stars were back from Latrobe, winners of two great games that give them the right to enter the state championship playoffs at Williamsport this weekend.

It was an enthusiastic home-coming for the first Bellefonte Little League team to reach the state playoffs.

The boys brought home the District 2 title, the respect of other teams and of everyone they met on the trip.

The program on the Diamond was brief.  Jack Berger, Bellefonte Council president, told the boys the town is proud of their athletic abilities and sportsmanship, and the high school band which earlier spent a busy evening playing at a festival played several selections.  The boys were whisked across the street to the Brockerhoff Hotel where Mr. and Mrs. Sam Foresman served ice cream and cake.

The talk around the table at the hotel was just about everything but baseball.

Harold Rossman, the team’s manager, and assistant Budd Haupt talked about how well the boys conducted themselves on the field and at St. Vincent’s College where they stayed for two days.

“Father Lewis, head of the college, kept coming up to me and telling me what a fine bunch of boys we had, and we sure had the crowd and the other teams with us when we beat Brownsville today,” he said.

Frank Webster, president of the Bellefonte Little League since its founding, said he’s now realized an ambition he has had since his first year the league was formed.  He said realizing his dream of getting into the state playoffs was important but the sportsmanship and behavior of the boys meant even more to him.

“That’s what won the games for you,” the league president said.

Mr. Rossman said the boys had had nothing but baseball for a couple of weeks and that they would have a chance to rest and forget baseball until practice starts tomorrow evening.

“Everything on the trip went fine.  The worst thing that happened was that three boys fell out of bed last night,” the manager said.

Asked if the boys were up for the games and if they were thinking baseball all the time, he said:

“Were they there working?  They even talked about baseball in their sleep.”

He said he heard one of the boys call out in his sleep Friday night, “Run Billy, run, you’re an all star.”

You couldn’t ask for anything more than that. The boys and the managers gave all they had.

Bellefonte’s Proud of Its Midget Team of ‘Real Boys’. (1958, August 6). Centre Daily Times, p4. 

Editorial:

Bellefonte’s Proud of Its Midget Team of ‘Real Boys’

The Bellefonte Little League all-stars have climbed higher in the tournament competition than any other Centre County team since Little League Baseball was begun here 10 years ago.

The representatives of Bellefonte’s four teams turned out  some fine playing  to win two important games and the District 2 championship at Latrobe last weekend.  The boys will enter the four-team state playoffs at Williamsport, the home of Little League, Friday and Saturday of this week.

Bellefonte and its surrounding areas are proud of the boys who have played so well and who have risen so high in state competition.  The many fans will be pulling for the team when it steps into the tougher state bracket Friday afternoon.

It took hard work to bring the boys as far as they have come.  The way they have been playing ball shows they have been well handled by the all-star managers, Harold Rossman and Budd Haupt.

Bellefonte people who went to Latrobe for the playoffs and the men who were in charge of the team on the trip have spoken again and again of how well the boys have conducted themselves both on and off the field.  Many went out of their way to pay compliments.

Frank Webster, the only president the Bellefonte League ever had, is as pleased as anyone with the manner in which the boys cooperated with their adult leaders and conducted themselves during the tournament playoffs.  As important as making a good showing as players and winning games is to Frank, he said at the welcoming rally Saturday night that being real boys and winning the respect of everyone was even more important.

The League president believes their attitude and the way they handled themselves are responsible for winning so far and will go far to help them win more games.

Little League baseball is a team game, in the case of the all-star team, which is made up of those who have played, those on the bench and those who have played through the season in regularly scheduled games, many boys had a part in turning out the performances that won the District 2 championship.

The Times believes strongly in the team idea in Little League.  For that reason it consistently has avoided pointing up the accomplishments of individual players using the names of the players only in the box score.  In stressing team play we feel that we are serving better the purpose of Little League and the interest of its young players.

The Bellefonte all-stars face stiff tests at Williamsport this weekend.  Mr. Webster has expressed the hope that the team will go on to higher brackets.  Like Mr. Webster, The Times is proud of the boys and, win or lose, will continue to be proud of them no matter what might happen in the coming games.

Bellefonte Little League Stars Have a Spunky Heritage. (1958, August 8). Centre Daily Times, p10. 

Small Wonder They’re Champs

Bellefonte Little League Stars Have a Spunky Heritage

Where did the Bellefonte Little League all stars get the spunk it took to carry them into the state tournament at Williamsport today?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the 10-year history of how the community got a Little League field in the first place.

Though the boys on this year’s team were too young to understand at the time, maybe a little of the aggressiveness of three men interested in starting Little League in Bellefonte was rubbing off back in 1949.

Frank Webster and Dan Greve, the league’s top two officials these days and Ollie Kohlbecker, who died a few years ago, got the ball rolling in the fall of 1949.

“We held a meeting at the American Legion Hall,” Mr Grove recalls, “just to see how many people would be interested in starting the league.  “You know, people came from all over the county and it was evident they wanted a league.”

Grove was elected president and he and Kohlbecker negotiated for the Fifth Avenue field which the league now uses.  A big hurdle was cleared.

Webster was elected president when the league was officially organized and has served as president since.

The field, which had been leased from the Warner Co. was in turn taken over by the Bellefonte Clubmen’s Assn. with the hope of paying a little every year until the $3000 price was paid.  Maybe this year’s stars get their drive and initiative from their elders who had the spunk to bounce back from a setback in 1950.  The association was unable to continue payments and from that time through 1953 the league supported itself and made its own payments from concessions and collections through the work of parents and league officials.

Then again maybe some of the team’s ability to win friends for itself rubbed off back in 1953 when the Bellefonte Borough agreed to take the title to the field and paid the remaining debt.

The borough still holds the title to the field because a Little League rule prohibits its members to own property.

A good bit of the stars’ willingness to work at practice sessions attested to by manager Harold Rossman must come from the example set by the Women’s Auxiliary which came on the scene in 1953.

Enthusiasm was stirred up by Mrs. Russell Haupt.  The Auxiliary paid to have a concession house built, ran a tag day to help pay for a trip to Williamsport for the Little League World Series and held a banquet at the end of each season from 1953 until now.

They put electricity in the field and had running water pipes installed recently, which will work as soon as they’re connected.

So now the league plays on a beautiful field which is at least free of debt.  However, the expense 

incurred from the Latrobe trip and the Williamsport tournament threw the league back into debt.  It will depend largely on donations from the community to pay for the trips.

“We hope the league can raise the money,” Mrs. Haupt said, “but if it can’t the Auxiliary will probably pay for the two trips.”

That’s the heritage these 1958 all stars have.  Small wonder they’re spunky enough to rein in a state tournament.

Field, R. (1958, August 9). Bellefonte in Little League’s State Finals. Centre Daily Times, p5. 

Bellefonte in Little League’s State Finals

Rossman’s Big Question Answered By Stars Who Were Never Behind

By RON FIELD, Times Sports Editor

“We’re not beat yet!”

That’s how the Bellefonte Little League all star team felt after its once-comfortable 2-0 lead vanished as quickly as black clouds swallowed up the bright sun at Williamsport yesterday.

Head groundskeeper Fred DeHaas and his re-capped crew got dampened holding down a  plastic tarpaulin.  The predominantly Bellefonte crowd moved to dry shelter, glum and shocked.

There wasn’t much time for gloom down in the Bellefonte dugout.  Everyone was too busy and too anxious to get back those two runs.  “Now just go up there and swing.”, Manager Harold Rossman was telling the team which had won six straight all star playoff games and was representing the best of 150 leagues.

“Don’t get over anxious and try to kill the ball,” the manager added, “and Ron you play back a little farther in right field.”

The rain was gone as quickly as it had come and in all about ten minutes and the same applied to the glumness of the Bellefonte following after the stars scored three runs in dramatic fashion in the top of the seventh, then held Erie Seneca scoreless to win the game.

Amidst the shouting and endless picture-taking a mother posed hugging her embarrassed but happy young son.

For manager Rossman the biggest question had been answered.  Just before the game it was percentages and an unusual fact which left him worried.  

“You know,” he said, “this team has never once been behind in a game.  They’ve been tied all right but never behind since the post season started.

“In a tournament where four such topnotch teams are pitted against each other they might have that experience.  If they can play as well when they’re behind as they do when they’ve got a comfortable lead then this is a great team.  I’ve always thought it was.”

Rossman had his answer after the team bounced back.

Uncle Ben never doubted the stars could do it.  Uncle Ben is Benjamin Gingerich who first met the stars when they were in the process of winning the sectional tournament in Latrobe.  

“I sure hope your boys win,” he told Rossman just before they beat Brownsville in the finals, “and when they do I’ll be seeing you in Williamsport.”

That’s all Rossman remembered until the stars pulled into Rich Hall on the Lycoming College Campus where they slept last night, and Uncle Ben turned up again.

He’s the team’s host for the tournament.  He makes sure the boys are comfortable at the college and sees to it they get to and from the ball field.

“We’re all very close to him,” one boy said.  “He’s sort of like a good luck charm and we like to think of him as Uncle Ben.”

Jessup held a two-run lead most of the game, lost it much the same as Bellefonte had roared back to win…

Parade Planned for Little Stars. (1958, August 9). Centre Daily Times, p5. 

Parade Planned for Little Stars

There will be a parade in Bellefonte for the all star Little League team, win or lose, today at the diamond starting at 8:30 pm.

The high school band will play.  All Bellefonte fans are asked to turn out.

As the team filed off the field and headed for the stands to watch the second game, Frank Webster, who’s been league president since it started in 1949, thought back 10 years.  

“We should have been here that year,” he said.  Our team beat Lock Haven during the season then lost to another team just three games away from getting into the states.  Lock Haven went on to win that year.”

Rossman feels this team is the best all star aggregation to have come from Bellefonte.

As soon as Rossman found out who this year’s all stars were he had a talk with the group.  

“You’re the finest team we’ve ever had,” he told the boys, “and you don’t have to convince me of that.  I know what you can do.  All you have to do is your best and you’ll go a long way.”

At the end of the opening ceremony to yesterday’s opener John M. Lindemuth, tournament director, reminded the crowd that the players were small boys.  “They’re still very young,” he said to the crowd,  “and if you keep this in mind you’ll all leave the tournament quite happy  and feel like you had a good time.”

That brings to mind the words of a man close to baseball who once said, “you have to be a man to play major league baseball but you have to have a lot of the little boy in you too.”

In the case of Little League Baseball it might go something like this, “you have to be a little boy to play Little League baseball but it takes a lot of the qualities of a man too.”

Field, R. (1958, August 11). Bellefonte Stars State Champions. Centre Daily Times, p12. 

Bellefonte Stars State Champions

Champs Top Jessup, 2-1

Little Leaguers Get 2 Runs in 6th Inning of Final Tilt at Williamsport

By RON FIELD, Times Sports Editor

They did it.  And what’s more they came from behind.

The Bellefonte Little League all star team won the 1958 Pennsylvania state championship in the most dramatic fashion possible at Williamsport Saturday.

As manager Harold Rossman and his 14 youthful champs put away past glories and look to the regional tournament in Staten Island, N.Y. this week something deeper and more useful than drama will be with them.

The team, which has never been behind since post-season tournament play began over three weeks ago, chose the state championship finals to prove they could overcome a lead by the opposition.

That was one of the most satisfying parts of Bellefonte’s first state crown since the community started Little League baseball 10 years ago for manager Rossman.  “I never doubted they could do it.,” he said, “and I told them before the game they had the stuff.  The only thing that had me worried was whether or not they’d tighten up if they were behind.”

Jessup, which was by far the toughest team the stars have faced this year, scored in the second inning and held the one-run lead until the last of the sixth inning when the Bellefonte nine buckled down and scored two runs to win the title.

Rossman said he kept in mind during the entire game that here was a group whose success was as strong as each stitch in its closely knitted teamwork.

“Why even the coaches on the base paths did an important job,” he said, “and they deserve as much credit as the nine boys who played.”

Good baseball knowledge, especially good for 12 year-olds, kept runners from getting picked off the bases and waved in Bellefonte’s runs.  Rossman emphasized that all the boys were all stars and each could be depended on if and when he were needed.

After capturing the 12th annual Williamsport state title, the stars will work out this week for the regional tourney in Staten Island.

From August 14 through 16 they’ll represent Pennsylvania in the eastern regional tournament where they meet the winner of the New Jersey-Connecticut  playoff in the first round.

If the stars continue their phenomenal winning ways they’ll return to Williamsport the following weeks for the national tournament, the Little League World Series.

“We’re going to work out pretty much the same as we have been”, Rossman explained, “We believe in rather light workouts for two reasons.

“First of all, the boys have had quite a lot of baseball and deserve a rest.  Secondly, we feel its better to save the explosions for the playing field and not waste too much energy in practice since the boys are playing every week these days.”

One of the happiest and proudest Bellefonte supporters after the stormy victory was Ben Gingerich of Williamsport, called “Uncle Ben” by the stars.

He’s known them since the section tournament in Latrobe and served as the team host for the state tourney.

“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of boys,” Uncle Ben said amidst the cheering.  “I’ve been close to these boys for a few weeks now and I’ll remember what a good baseball team they had for a long time.  “But for an even longer time I won’t be able to forget how well-mannered and friendly they’ve been.  I sure hope they go far in the regionals.  They’ve got the stuff.”

Rossman figures a good deal of credit belongs to the three other managers of the Bellefonte Little League who coached the members of the all star team during the regular season.

Dick Bartlett managed Decker Motors, Joe Kustanbauter was in charge of the Bellefonte Lions Club team, Bud Haupt, who is assistant all star coach, managed the Bellefonte Motor Sales team, and Rossman managed the Keckler Chevrolet team…

Here’s Picture Story of Bellefonte Tourney Action. (1958, August 11). Centre Daily Times, p11. 

Here’s Picture Story of Bellefonte Tourney Action

Yeager, J. (1958, August 11). Bellefonte Again Hold Celebration for Midgets. Centre Daily Times, p1.

It’s Getting to be a Habit:

Bellefonte Again Holds Celebration for Midgets

By Jack H. Yeager Times Staff Writer

There’s a celebration in Bellefonte every Saturday night.

A group of ball players enroute to some championship playoff drop into town, a lot of people turn out to welcome them, they stay a couple of days and are off again.  

It’s great fun and everyone hopes it’ll be a Saturday must for a while.

It happened again Saturday.

Fourteen boys who became Pennsylvania Little League champions simply by refusing to give up were met by a flash crowd that filled just about every square foot of The Diamond.

It was a near riot.  The Bellefonte Little League All Stars who got to the top of  state playoffs by scoring 39 runs to their opponent’s 5 were stormed by admirers of all ages.

The boys learned something besides how it feels to come from behind and polish off a strong team that led them into the do-or-die half of the last inning.  They found how it was to have girls try to storm the Brockerhoff Hotel’s front door to get to see them.

The boys arrived on the Diamond just after 8:30 p.m., in the backs of convertibles.  They gathered at the Junior High School, still in uniform and with some of them taking practice batting swings.

Their eyes opened like big holes in left field when they saw the convertibles lined up along Linn St.  Maybe they were about to break over a little but the big little guys remembered they had reputations for things other than winning ball games.

They remembered they were cited for being the only team that made their own beds at Lycoming College, and all through the parade to the Diamond remained as calm as a pitcher with an 0 and 2 count on a batter.  

The Bellefonte High School Band knocked off from playing a concert at the JayCees carnival on the school commons and led the boys and fire apparatus in a parade to The Diamond.

It’s been a long time since so many people turned out for anything in Bellefonte.

Jack Berger, Council president managed to get the boys out of the cars and in a huddle in front of the monument for a few words they never heard, but it was a struggle.

There were some mighty nice things said at the Brockerhoff Hotel by Frank Webster, league president, Manager Harold Rossman, Mngr., Thomas J. O’Shea, and Dan Grove, an originator of the little league.

We like most of what Budd Haupt the assistant manager said, “We’ve picked on the boys so much they are beginning to call us dad.  It’s a wonderful thrill and I don’t know if we’ll ever give them back to their dads.”

Field, R. (1958, August 13). No Individual Stars–They’re All Important. Centre Daily Times, p10. 

Rambling Thru:

No Individual Stars- – They’re All Important

By RON FIELD, Times Sports Editor

A phone call the other night started me thinking.

“What’s the story on the Bellefonte Little League all star team?” the sports writer from another newspaper was asking.

“What information would you like?” we asked.  “We’ll try to be of some help.”

“Well, who’s their best pitcher?  Do they have a particularly classy fielder?  Who’s their home-run hitter?  Who’s got the highest batting average?”

We tried to think of the answers but it was tough.  The team has a number of good pitchers.  The fielding is good and especially good in the clutch when a miscue might cost a game.  As for hitting it seems every game a different boy rises to the occasion  when a clutch hit is needed.  Sometimes it’s a home run, more often it’s a base hit off the bat of a young boy who won’t quit because his team needs a run.

We thought of the words of manager Harold Rossman when trying to answer the question of the fellow sports writer.

“This isn’t a team of individual stars,” he has always said, “they’re all good ball players but to get this far in tournament play it takes a lot more than a bunch of individuals.”

Rossman always hesitates to say who his starting pitcher will be.  He always gives a probable starting line up and he never dotes on the performance of one player.

That falls in line with the Times policy of never mentioning  names in the account of a Little League game.

A veteran baseball fan from another community recalled when the Little League team from his town won national recognition 10 years ago.

“All the fuss over the kids hurt them later on,” he said.  “They were just small boys when they won the national championship, but you’d never know it at the ball park.

“Fans tried to rattle the opposing pitcher.  The booed soundly when a boy renowned for hitting homers struck out and the pressure was so great on those kids that the game wasn’t fun for them anymore.  It got to be more like a job and I honestly think they were glad when the season was over.”

It’s unlikely anything that drastic has a chance of taking hold on the Bellefonte team.  The fans realize they’re not dealing with professional ball players.  The boys have already won the respect of fans in other communities for their manners and sportsmanship.

Also, the danger of too much glory spoiling the all stars in future years doesn’t seem to be much with which to be concerned.

Being the only County Little League outfit to have won a sectional, much less a state crown, it should receive all the credit due champions.  And yet here is another instance in which adults have to use good judgment where youngsters are concerned.  The right amount of celebration and fanfare is a hard thing to reach.  It can unknowingly be carried too far.

Here again Bellefonte fans are using sound judgment.  The welcome parties are planned in advance of the outcome of the games and are on a win or lose basis.

They’re for the entire team and no one boy is lavished with glory more than others.

As the Little Leaguers move further into tournament playoffs it’s going to become more and more important to keep our heads and recall the words of state tournament director John Lindemuth who said, “Remember these are small boys.  Treat them as such and you’ll always have a warm feeling about what you’ve seen after a Little League game.”

So the sports writer for the other paper never did get what he was looking for.  No individual stars, no singularly outstanding performers – just a group of young boys for whom baseball is still a game and one which they’ve apparently learned well.

Follow The Bellefonte Little League All-Stars. (1958, August 13). Centre Daily Times, p16.  

Bellefonte All Stars Seeking 3rd Crown. (1958, August 13). Centre Daily Times, p10. 

Regional 1st Round Tomorrow

Bellefonte All Stars Seeking 3rd Crown

The Bellefonte Little League Stars are off again.

They left the Diamond in Bellefonte by bus at 8:30 a.m. en route to Staten Island N.Y., where they shoot for their 3rd crown.

The district and state championships already under their belts, the tournament wise stars play tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at Staten Island’s Hy Torkin Memorial Field for the right to represent the East in the nationals at Williamsport next week.

Though the tournament runs from tomorrow through Saturday, actually there are only two playing days.  Friday has been set aside as a rain date.  Should the stars win tomorrow they’ll relax on a tour of New York City before entering the finals Saturday.

Manager Harold Rossman said his team should have less butterflies than ever since the stars, by now, are an experienced tournament club with a never-say-die attitude.

“The competition figures to be tough as these teams represent even bigger segments of Little League baseball than we’ve run up against so far,” Rossman said, “but they’ll have to be awfully good to be better than that Jessup team.”

Rossman rates Jessup as the toughest opposition his team has faced and State College’s Nittany Valley team as second toughest.

“That State College team had hitters with good eyes,” he said, “and they guarded the plate all the time.  Jessup had the balance of good fielding and power.”

The stars, who worked out lightly yesterday just before the rain, meet the winner of the Connecticut-New Jersey state in the state tournament tomorrow.

The winner will play the winner of the game between the New York and New England champions for the regional crown.

In the nationals at Williamsport next week, there will be four regions, East, West, North and South, plus champions from Canada and Mexico.  They’ll vie for honors in the Little World Series.

They’ll Use ‘em!. (1958, August 13). Centre Daily Times, p4. 

They’ll Use ‘em!

The chips are down again for the Bellefonte Little League all stars.  It’s been just four days since the boys won the state championship at Williamsport and tomorrow they step into a higher bracket at regional playoffs at Donegan Hills, Staten Island, N.Y.

The pressure has been mounting since Bellefonte beat Mountain Top in the first of eight tournament games played so far. Tomorrow it will be a few degrees higher when the boys take their playing positions on the Hy Turkin Memorial Field.  It will be a seasoned group of players that will take the field tomorrow against other boys who have also gained  know-how in their climb to their state’s championship.  We all hope for the best and know that the boys and their managers will give their best.

We all hope  that the boys will continue to win but we must remember that the hopes of all of us rest solely on what can happen when 11 and 12 year-olds meet in championship competition that would test much older and more-seasoned players.

The boys will be out there on that lonely field by themselves with their knowledge, their skill and the fine character that has already been built into their young lives to help them.  All that can be said is that they have demonstrated they have these qualities in abundance and they’ll use them to the best of their abilities.

Pennsylvania’s champs forced the crack Connecticut team to play one of its finest games.  

Bellefonte took a one-run lead in the bottom of the second inning, lost it when Darien scored two in the third, fell further behind in the fifth when the winners scored another tally, then clawed back in the same way they won the state tournament to tie the score 3-3, going into the sixth inning.  

With one swoop of a Darien bat the tie was broken and, unable to score in the last of the sixth, the stars  bowed out of the tournament.

“Both teams played excellently,” manager Harold Rossman said.

“After it was over the boys felt badly about losing but there were no tears.”

Even more heart-warming than the jubilation after the stars won the state title last week was a mother’s words as she leaned over the rail behind the stars dugout and shouted: “Win or lose we love you all.”

“This is absolutely the finest team ever to come out of Bellefonte,” Rossman said after the game.

“There has never been any bickering among the boys, they’ve pulled together for the team and used their natural ability to good advantage.”

The all stars were far from being newcomers to tournament play after scoring 41 runs and allowing only six in an eight game winning streak.  And it showed up on the field as the game began.

One fan particularly impressed with the smooth outfit from Centre County was Mayor Robert Wagner of New York City.

“It surprises me to see such young boys with a lot of the grace and polish often lacking in older boys,” he said, referring to the Bellefonte team as it played against Darien.

Jack Farrell, personnel manager of the New York Yankees, said he thought the Bellefonte team was one of the best he’s ever seen in Little League circles.

“The boys weren’t nervous before the game,” Rossman said.  “Pressure didn’t lose it for them.  It was just one of those ball games.  It had to come sooner or later.  They played well and were a smooth-working unit on the field.

Disappointment stayed with the stars for as long as it took one of them to remember tomorrow’s consolation game against New Hampshire at 10 a.m.

“Hey fellas,” he shouted.  “Let’s forget about today.  We have another game to think about tomorrow.”

Yeager, J. (1958, August 18). Little Leaguers Welcomed, Given Behavior Trophy. Centre Daily Times, p1. 

Little Leaguers Welcomed, Given Behavior Trophy

By Jack H. Yeager Times Staff Writer

There were no sad songs for the Bellefonte Little League All Stars who were given a big welcome on their return from regional playoffs at Staten Island last evening.

The team that showed its class  all through the tournament competition has “something special” and brought home an unusual trophy to prove it.

Each of the 14 boys clutched trophies from the playoffs.  Frank Webster, Little League President, held aloft a special award which he said was given for the first time in Little League history.

It was an award given by Wagner College where the boys were quartered for the commendable way members of the team conducted themselves.  The citation said that “Bellefonte seems to have something special” and named the team outstanding among the four that stayed at the college.

A large crowd met the fourth place winners on the Diamond with at least as much enthusiasm as was displayed at the previous homecomings from district and state championships.

Its too bad for a number of reasons, of course, that the homecomings for this year’s All Stars are over.  But one reason is the welcomings were just beginning to get organized.

Last evening the boys rode from the Junior High School in cars with their names printed on big letters, they were placed on a raised platform and there was a program that could be heard by the crowd that gathered.  The boys appeared anything but sad as they were presented to the crowd on the diamond.  They looked and acted like champions and were wildly cheered as they paraded past the Diamond and their return for the program.

“It just wasn’t our day,” Harold Rossman, team manager said in one of the shorter speeches.  Carl Kellogg and Budd Haupt, assistant managers, said the boys did a great job and Nathan Krauss, Dan Grove, Sam Foresman, Jack Berger, acting burgess, and Mr. Webster expressed their pride in their performance.

The Bellefonte High School Band and the American Legion Junior Band, fire apparatus and the boys in convertibles made up the parade.  Miss Jean Bixby, State College, Miss Centre County, was in the first car.

Hal Green of Radio Station WBLF was master of ceremonies for the well-organized program.

Carl Moerschbacher, who was the moving spirit behind the arrangements, said he wanted to express appreciation  to Kofman’s for the trailer used as a platform, to Stine Brothers for the signs for store windows, to Everett Mundy for the sound system, to Mr. Green and to Olin F. Butt and Bruce I.Gardner and their bands.

Bellefonte’s Little Stars Lose by 5-1. (1958, August 18). Centre Daily Times, p9. 

Awarded Best-Behaved Trophy:

Bellefonte Little Stars Lose by 5-1

The Bellefonte Little League all star team, the winningest in Centre County’s 10 year history of Little League, always manages to come up with honors in tournament play.

For the past three tournaments the stars whipped eight rivals to grab 3 titles, ending with a victory in the state tournament.  Though they lost both games in the Eastern Regionals in Staten Island, N.Y., this weekend, they won another honor – the trophy as the tournament’s best-behaved team.

“It was a trophy presented by Wagner College”, Rossman said, “and it was the first year they gave out a trophy like that”.

That’s been the pattern for the all stars since they started tournament play three weeks ago.  Winning eight straight games and title after title, they built up wide followings and a long line of friends in the communities where they played.

The title winning was ended  in the Regionals, where Bellefonte lost both games.  They were eliminated from a possible berth in the Little League World Series in Williamsport this week when they lost the first game Thursday to eventual champion Darien, Conn.  The stars lost the consolation round to New Hampshire’s state champs Saturday after rain threatened to wipe out the game.

The game was originally scheduled for 10 a.m., before the finals between Darien and South Utica, N.Y., but the field was so wet early in the morning it was even doubtful the finals would be played.

I must admit we considered postponing the whole tournament for one day,” said Eastern Regional director Dr. Creighton Hale.

I’ve never seen such fine work getting the grounds ready,” he added.  “When we thought we could play the finals it was decided to flip a coin for the two places and cancel the consolation game.”

Rossman said both teams were so disappointed at the news that tournament  officials decided to schedule the consolation after the finals.

“Neither team wanted to see them flip a coin for the No. 3 spot,” Rossman said, “they wanted to play ball.”

The stars lost to a tough New Hampshire team in the consolation.

“Even though our team wasn’t up to its usual standard of play,” Rossman said, “you can’t take  anything away from New Hampshire.

“They play a fine game all the way and deserved the win,” he added.  “We just met a better team and lost.”

The trophy was awarded the stars during the ceremonies Saturday night when the Regional champs from Connecticut were crowned and the runner up honors were given out.

After playing  Thursday’s game, the stars went on a tour by bus through the city of New York.

“I think the boys were almost as excited with the trip as they were with the tournament,” Rossman said, but when they played they weren’t nervous one bit.  This is a team that’s used to the pressure of tournaments and there wasn’t any butterflies.”

He said he and assistant manager Bud Haupt were satisfied with the play of the stars in the tournament.  It was an aggregation of state champions and the competition was tough, they agreed.

“Folks in Staten Island said this was one of the best tournaments they’ve seen for Little Leaguers,” said Frank Webster, president of the Bellefonte Little League.

“They also seemed to think our game with Darien was the closest and best played,” he added.

We didn’t commit one error in the Regional tournament,” Rossman said proudly, “and that’s one of the biggest feathers in any Little League team’s cap.

Holding Trophy High (1958, August 19). Centre Daily Times, p9.