Unlike today where there is a steady progression of leagues based on ages, in my small town there there was only Little League then the "Babe Ruth" league which encompassed the 13 year olds thru 18 year olds.........As a 13 year old 90 lb., 4'9 kid with glasses, there was no way I was able to compete in that league with 18 year old guys and so I turned in my uniform and quit.
It wasn't until I was in the Army that I joined my unit's fast pitch softball team that I played organized ball again.......After the Army, I've been playing slow pitch softball ever since...
Lob league, fast pitch wiffle, ‘500’ and an old Chicago classic, Four corner lob. This was during the 70’s and 80’s for me.
Almost every corner in the city had a sewer cap on all four corners (4 bases)and we would play lob with a tennis ball or wiffle. Of course, hitting it to ‘right’was an automatic out and it was always’pitchers hand’. If you were a lefty batter (very rare) the pitcher would pitch from the 3rd base line.
Someone commented earlier about stickball. I never saw anyone play stickball in the city, we played 16” softball instead, and that was only for the older guys (post 16rs of age)
I still play softball today and have had 3 broken fingers, 1 broken knuckle and surgery for a finger tendon. I guess Chicagoans are just gluttons for punishment. (you can tell we are by electing the same idiot democrat families for years!)
As the amount of replies to my original post suggests, nothing brings Americans together like baseball. I am really enjoying all of your replies and it has brought back great memories of a simpler time.
We had a “Babe Ruth” League for 13-15 year olds. We saw the same disparity; there were 15 year olds who were over 6’ and weighed 200+ who could throw in the 80s, and had a passable duece. The average 13 year old was never going to hit them. So the year my son was 12 we (the Board) decided to separate the 13 year olds into their own league (what a coincidence). For 13 year olds on a 90 foot diamond it was an adjustment to make the long throw from 3rd and it was rare to have a catcher who could make the throw to 2nd. But the kids adjusted and the numbers of kids who kept playing went up dramatically.