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State Rep. Rick Mirabito D-Lycoming www.pahouse.com/Mirabito

Mirabito celebrating Little League creator with lasting tribute

100^th anniversary of Carl E. Stotz's birthday is Saturday, Feb. 20

HARRISBURG, Feb. 19 – The 100^th anniversary of the birth of Little League Baseball founder Carl E. Stotz is Saturday, Feb. 20, and state Rep. Rick Mirabito, D-Lycoming, is preparing a lasting tribute to the late Williamsport native.

Mirabito is preparing legislation that would rename the Market Street Bridget in Loyalsock Township the Carl E. Stotz Little League Bridge.

"Little League Baseball is played around the world and is a slice of small-town America that has provided millions of children countless summer hours of fun. We have Carl Stotz to thank for all those wonderful family memories," Mirabito said.

Stotz came up with the idea of Little League Baseball in 1938 while playing a game of catch with his two young nephews. Since then, it has become the world's largest organized youth sports program with nearly 200,000 teams in the United States and more than 80 countries.

Stotz was a lifelong resident of Williamsport who served as a local tax collector. Mirabito said renaming the bridge would be a lasting tribute to Stotz who dedicated his life to giving children a game that teaches them the fundamental principles of sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork. Stotz died in 1992 at the age of 82.