May 14, 2014 9:01 AM
The Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, a department of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, has announced a project entitled “Bases Loaded” to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball Organization.
The Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, a department of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, has announced a project entitled “Bases Loaded” to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball Organization. The scope of this project is to turn an intersection into a baseball diamond; the ground will be painted and ten life-size bronze statues will be placed appropriately at each corner or base pad. There will be a pitcher, batter, 3 baseman, 3 base runners, a catcher, an umpire, and a team manager.
These statues will represent all who have participated in the league through the years, from when it was first founded to today. The statues will also represent the softball teams as well as the Challenger division. Between the ten, there is a variety of boy and girl players, first edition and modern uniforms, as well as a mix of ethnicities. The only statue that will depict a specific person is the manager, being made after the likeness of Carl E. Stotz, founder of Little League Baseball.
The Little League organization, with the help of Jason Fink, has commissioned Big Statues, with Matt Glenn as the lead artist to create these statues. The two have finalized the design for the bronzes and the process has moved onto the sculpting and clay work.
“This has been a dream come true. I’ve been a life long baseball fan. Having twin 12-year old boys playing in Little League and sculpting this project has been very rewarding” says Glenn.
All funding for the project is being raised through underwriting of each of the statues. As of now, 5 of the 10 statues have been secured with financial support. Any businesses/organizations that are interested in becoming involved with the project in support of the remaining 5 statues can contact Jason Fink at the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, 570-320-4213 or email him at jfink@williamsport.org.
The ten statues are on track to arrive in Williamsport by August 1, 2014. They will be installed and unveiled formally on Friday August 22 during Championship Weekend of this year’s Little League World Series.