Beckum-Stapleton Little League kicked off its season May 7 at Carver Park.
The baseball league is in its 52nd year. Four churches founded Beckum Little League in 1964.
The first game was between the Stars and the Barons. The teams are made up of boys 9 to 12 years old.
April McCaskill, a parent, said the games are competitive but fun, which fosters a love of baseball. Her son Phillip (number 28) is in his second year in the league.
Jim Brey serves as president of the league. "This is a community institution," he said about the longstanding league.
The teams practiced twice a week for about a month before their first game.
Jim Criss (right) has coached for 39 years. "(The games) aren't about winning; it's about fundamental baseball," he said. "It keeps (kids) off the streets."
Beckum-Stapleton includes 14 teams. The Brewers Community Foundation provides uniforms for the teams.
The league runs through July, before fall ball begins in August.
Beckum-Stapleton Little League kicked off its season May 7 at Carver Park. The league has run for more than 50 years. Coaches say that the league teaches youth life lessons, as well as baseball. “It keeps (kids) off the streets,” noted Jim Criss, a coach for 39 years.
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Beckum-Stapleton Little League kicks off 52nd year
by Wyatt Massey, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 8, 2016
