OUR History
Bob Jones Tournament
So who was Bob Jones?
Bob Jones was President of Bridgeport LL and died in office. Tony Marra named the "First Place Tournament" after him. When we created D27, we kept the name until Bridgeport moved to District 22. Then we started calling it the Major League "Team" Tournament since Bridgeport is no longer in our District. But the name still sticks.
John Klein Tournament
So who was John Klein?
Before District 27, many of our leagues were part of the old District 23-- John Klein was a mainstay and dedicated volunteer from Chester Valley Little League. He provided significant support at the old "B" tournament at Chester Valley. The majority of the tournament games were played at the Chester Valley VFW and Monument Avenue fields. John was always there and was a great asset to then ADA of Special Tournaments, Charlie Hemingway and the District in managing this tournament. John would have all three fields going at once for most of the day. Right before he passed away then District 23 Administrator, the late Tony Marra, and his staff visited John during his final days and presented him with a banner and advised him the tournament would be named in his honor.
The Al “Pappy” Patton 8-10 Year Old International Baseball Memorial Tournament
So who was Pappy Patton?
The Al Patton Memorial Tournament was established in 2001 in recognition of the many contributions that Al “Pappy” Patton made to Little League. In addition to an Umpire Award each year at banquet time, Pappy’s influence has been recognized by the 9-10 YO International Baseball tournament that bears his name. Pappy’s daughter Jan makes it a point to try to attend at least one of the tournament games each year. Pappy’s Williamsport World Series assignment came in 1957. This was the first time a team outside the US, from Monterry, Mexico was entered. Monterrey made it to the championship game and won the World Series defeating a US team from Northern La Mesa, CA. Pappy worked that game and it was the first and only perfect game ever pitched. Pappy continued to serve Little League for well over 40 years until his passing.
