A big day for Beverly Little League

The state's first Little League will celebrate its 75th anniversary on Saturday with a parade and more

Saturday is a big day for Beverly Little League and we have a bunch of questions (and answers). Let’s play ball.

What’s going on Saturday?

Beverly Little League will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a parade and an opening day ceremony. At 10 a.m., teams will march in their uniforms from the Centerville Elementary School to Harry Ball Field, where the opening ceremony will take place. Organizers are expecting as many as 1,000 people.

Why is it such a big deal?

Beverly Little League is the oldest Little League in Massachusetts. The first game was played on June 11, 1950, at Bessie Baker Park.

Do we know that for sure?

That’s what the Beverly Evening Times said. In a story previewing the big day, the newspaper called the new league “the first such midget league in Massachusetts.” Here’s the sports page from the day after:

The first Beverly Little League game was big news in The Beverly Evening Times.

Who is Bessie Baker?

Bessie Baker was the daughter of Beverly’s first mayor, John I. Baker. She lived from 1859 to 1934 and is buried in Central Cemetery.

Bessie Baker. Photo courtesy of Historic Beverly.

Anything else we should know about that first day in 1950?

The four teams that made up the league marched from Ellis Square to Bessie Baker “to the blare of bugles and drums,” the newspaper story said. Mayor Robert Rafferty threw out the first pitch. There was a doubleheader involving all four teams. Gerry Robbins hit the first homerun. Others homerun hitters that day were Ed Armstrong, a player listed only as “Manuel,” and Harry Ball.

You mean Harry Ball as in Harry Ball Field?

Yes, the field was named after Ball, who was a longtime supporter of Beverly sports and a top athlete in town. The story on the first game called him “the Little League’s biggest boy,” and the headline writer couldn’t resist: “Ball Hits Ball Over Fence.” The fact that Harry Ball hit a homerun at Bessie Baker is kind of blowing my mind right now.

Harrison Ball III, his son, told me that his father was so big and strong that Beverly Little League made a rule that he couldn’t pitch because they were afraid he would hurt somebody if he hit them.

Ball went on to play football at Boston College and for the Green Bay Packers for two seasons, in 1960 and ‘61, under Vince Lombardi.

Enough about the old days. What’s going on with the 2025 Beverly Little League?

This year there are 438 players from ages 4-12 on 38 teams. Those numbers are up by about 10% over the last five years, according to league officials. The league has 137 volunteers.

What’s new this year?

There are new batting cages at Harry Ball Field. Salty’s Lobster Shack, which runs the concession stand at Lynch Park, is now also running the snack shack at Harry Ball. And there’s this new logo, designed by Julia Swiniarski, who won a contest to come up with a new logo for the 75th season.

Who will throw out the first pitch on Saturday?

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. We know Driscoll was a good basketball player at Salem State back in the day. Don’t know yet about her pitching abilities.

Who will be the biggest celebrity at opening day?

My vote goes to Rich Donlon, a retired postal worker who played in the inaugural Beverly Little League season when he was 8 years old. Rich is scheduled to speak during the ceremony.

What Boston TV announcer is helping to promote the event?

See for yourself:

Why is Beverly Little League going all-out for this celebration?

Shane Fisher, who is the communication and engagement officer for Beverly League and chairs the events committee, said he only found out last year that Beverly Little League was the first in the state.

“I said, ‘You’re kidding me. Why doesn’t everyone know this?,” said Fisher, who moved to Beverly 10 years ago and has two kids playing Little League and another who graduated from the league two years ago. “This is huge. These kinds of moments don’t come often.”

Shane Fisher with his daughter, Amelia, 4, and sons Jackson, 10, and Mason, 14.

Note: Bring a box(es) of cereal

Beverly Bootstraps will be holding an Opening Day Cereal Drive. Parade participants are encouraged to bring a box of cereal (or more) with them when they gather at Centerville School and hand off their donations to the Beverly High School baseball team, which will be stationed at Harry Ball Field.

What’s the next big event?

A time capsule will be installed at Harry Ball Field, to be opened in 25 years. It will include digital photos of all the teams from the current season; a jersey or cap from each team; baseballs from opening day signed by Driscoll and others; a digital recording of BevCam and newspaper coverage of the day; and letters from Mayor Mike Cahill to the mayor of 2050 and from current Beverly Little League board members to their 2050 counterparts.

Sorry, back to the old days for a second. What’s my favorite memory from my Beverly Little League playing days, you ask?

Hitting two “home runs” — one of them a ground ball through the shortstop’s legs that kept rolling at fenceless Cove Playground — in the only game my father ever missed.