Weatherford Little League Association: WLLA History

Tuesday, March 21

Weatherford Little League History...


Weatherford Little League was created on April 20, 1953 with the issue of its first charter. James Boyd, Principal of the South Main School, served as its first president and presided over a season with four teams of boys ages 10-12. Those four teams (Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and White Sox) were sponsored by the Weatherford public schools and played their games at the South Main Softball field located on the site of the current 9th Grade Campus. James Boyd was the manager of the White Sox, Charles Bailey managed the Red Sox, Weldon Spracklin managed the Dodgers and Charles Hamilton managed the Yankees.


That first season opened with a doubleheader that saw the Red Sox defeat the Yankees 6-3 (Jimmy Watters pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox) and the White Sox beat the Dodgers 28-13 as Melvin Peoples hit the league’s first home run (a grand slam).


From its modest beginning, Weatherford Little League has grown into a program that serves both boys and girls (Little League Softball was born in 1975) with 60 teams in divisions from T-Ball to Big League. The league has had three State Champions over the years - the 1974 Senior League Boys (Ages 13-15) managed by Buddy Brunson and coached by Jimmy Parker; the 1978 Little League Girls (Ages 11 -12) managed by Karen Hull and Darrell Hull and the 1981 Big League Girls (Ages 16-18) managed by Johnny Davis and Tommy Copeland - and many District and Section champions.


Weatherford Little League has had 33 Presidents (Jeff Ford serves in 2009-2010 year) in its 53+ years with 27 men and 8 women serving in that capacity. Karen Hull was the first female President serving from 1980-1983.


The South Main field served as Weatherford Little League’s home in 1953 and 1954 until a new field was constructed on the current site of the parking lot on the west side of Weatherford High School’s Curtis Field, home of Kangaroo Baseball. That field was the league’s site of play from 1955 to 1964 when Jaycee Field, on Charles Street, opened for play in 1965. Carmichael Field was built in 1970, Williams Field in 1980, T-Ball Field in 1987, Charles Street Park in 1992 and the Coach Pitch Field in 1994. Lion’s Club Field was built in 1967 and had served as the home of the Weatherford High School Kangaroos. Currently, it is the home of the Little League program’s Junior Boys (Ages 13-14). Carmichael, Williams, T-Ball, Charles Street and Coach Pitch joined Jaycee on Charles Street to create a complex that serves the community well.


The complex is constantly being upgraded, for example, a wonderful new concession facility, donated through the generosity of Richard and Nancy Stewart of Chicken Express, was completed in 2007.


Games begin in mid-March and continue into July - come and join us for the fun!