On July 17, 1925, The South Dakota American Legion holds its annual convention in
Milbank. At that convention, members passed a resolution proposing American Legion Baseball. It has become a summertime staple for thousands of young people around the country.
Major John L. Griffith was invited to speak at the 1925 convention in Milbank. Instead of a traditional speech, Griffith, who was also the collegiate commissioner of the Western Conference, now the Big Ten, spoke about the role athletics can play in the development of youth.
Griffith said… “The American Legion could well consider the advisability of assisting in the training of young Americans through our athletic games," He said. “Athletic competition teaches courage and respect for others, fostering their growth into active citizens, he explained.”
The South Dakota convention agreed and passed a resolution urging the Legion to create an organized summer baseball league that started each June. That fall the national convention adopted the idea for the America Legion to... “inaugurate and conduct baseball leagues and tournaments for local
championships, and that local champions be given the opportunity to compete in departmental, sectional and regional tournaments, and that a junior world series championship baseball series be conducted at each national convention ... "
The first program in the world to provide a national baseball tournament for teenagers, American Legion Baseball, is recognized with a monument in Milbank as the birthplace of American Legion Baseball. It reads… “ in this city on July 17, 1925, by the action of the South Dakota Department of American Legion. The nationwide organization of Legion Junior Baseball was first proposed as a program of service to the youth of America.”
Production help is provided by Brad Tennant, Dakota Wesleyan University