[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5158-5159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CENTRAL SPRINGFIELD LITTLE LEAGUE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 2004

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
the 50th Anniversary of the Central Springfield Little League.
  In 1954, a small group of fathers headed by Harry Wood, Vic Aldridge, 
Bill Abrams, Jim Owens, Kent Browning, Ray Ramsey, and Frank Ralston 
first introduced little league baseball to the boys of Springfield, 
Virginia. These fathers organized and equipped 60 boys to play in a 
nearby league in Annandale, Virginia.
  The following year, franchised Little League granted Springfield its 
own league which gained tremendous popularity throughout what now is 
considered Springfield proper. As program popularity and area 
population rapidly increased, the program was divided into several 
leagues first in 1962, then in 1971, and again

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in 1972, creating the North Springfield Little League, the West 
Springfield Little League, and the Central Springfield Little League 
(CSLL).
  Since 1972, the CSLL has made every effort to maximize baseball 
development, participation, and enjoyment in Central Springfield. CSLL 
improvements include measures such as offering baseball clinics, using 
pitching machines, and creating a T-Ball program to introduce baseball 
to five and six year old children. The CSLL has also successfully 
implemented an ``Adopt-A-Field'' program that allows them to perform 
all necessary maintenance and repairs on the fields provided to the 
CSLL by the Fairfax County Park Authority and Franconia Park.
  Since 1975, with the lifting of the ``boys only'' policy by Little 
League, Baseball, Inc. girls have become an integral part of CSLL at 
all levels. Later in 1993 in conjunction with the West Springfield 
Little League, the CSLL first fielded a Challenger Team for children 
with physical and mental challenges, which since has grown to the 
largest in the world.
  For the past 50 years, CSLL has provided an invaluable service to the 
Springfield community. Thanks to the support of countless individuals 
and businesses in the greater Springfield community, the CSLL has grown 
into a thriving baseball league, one of the best youth baseball 
programs in the area.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to congratulate the CSLL on 50 
years of success. I call upon my colleagues to join me in applauding 
the league's efforts on behalf of Springfield and in wishing the CSLL 
the best of luck in the many years to come.

                          ____________________