Founded in 1925, American Legion Baseball is the oldest youth baseball program in the world, catering to youngsters ages 13 through 19. The idea for the program came from Major John L. Griffith, who addressed South Dakota’s state American Legion convention in 1925 and suggested that the organization sponsor youth athletics to teach courage and respect and to foster a sense of civic duty.

South Dakota promptly passed a resolution that asked the national organization to create a summer baseball program whose season would begin in June and culminate in a “world series.”

That fall at the national American Legion convention in Omaha, Nebraska, a resolution to create such a baseball program passed.

In 1926, 15 states began American Legion Baseball programs. Yonkers, New York’s Post 321 defeated Pocatello, Idaho, in the first World Series, held in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, the national American Legion was unable to fund a national tournament in 1927 after spending money on having its convention in Paris. The national program got back on track in 1928, though, with financial support from Major League Baseball, which gave the organization $50,000. That same year, American Legion Baseball debuted in Maine, with Alfred Post 134 winning the state championship.

By 1929, every state and the District of Columbia had a team.

The Great Depression prompted Major League Baseball to drop financial support for the program in 1933 and 1934. Support resumed in 1935 and has continued ever since, with Major League Baseball contributing $40,000 annually – about 3 percent of the national program’s budget.

In addition to sponsoring a national tournament, American Legion Baseball also awards scholarships. Each state awards a $500 scholarship annually, while eight regional players receive $2,500 scholarships. An academic team “captain” receives a $5,000 scholarship.

Tournament play
Maine American Legion Baseball has 60 teams divided into five zones. The regular season runs from mid-June to the third week of July. Each zone conducts playoffs to determine a zone champion to send to the state tournament. One zone runner-up also receives an automatic berth in the state tournament, with the automatic berth rotating amongst the zones. To determine the final two teams that will make up the eight-team, double-elimination state tournament, the other four zone runners-up compete in two play-in games.

This year, the runners-up for Zones 2 and 4 will play each other for the state tournament’s seventh spot. The runners-up for Zones 3 and 5 will play each other for the tournament’s eighth and final spot.

The Zone 2 runner-up vs. Zone 4 runner-up game will be at 10 a.m., July 26. The Zone 3 runner-up vs. Zone 5 runner-up game will be at 3 p.m., July 26. Both games will be at Husson University’s John Winkin Baseball Complex.

The winner of the state tournament will advance to the Northeast American Legion regional, to be played Aug. 7 through Aug. 11 in Middletown, Connecticut. The World Series will be held Aug. 14 through Aug. 19 in Shelby, North Carolina.

Historically, Maine teams have won three Northeast regionals and one World Series. Andrews Post of Portland won the 1995 regional while Nova Seafood of Portland won the 1999 and 2004 regionals. Nova Seafood went on to win the World Series in 2004.

Rules
American Legion Baseball uses Official Baseball Rules – the same rules that govern professional baseball – with some minor differences. Some of the differences include the allowance for metal and composite bats, a slide rule, and pitching limits.