Welcome to Memorial Ashford Little League!
Memorial Ashford Little League, commonly referred to as MALL, has been a part of the near West Houston community since it was first chartered with Little League International in 1972. Since its founding, it has served more than 20,000 players and their families and we are close to serving our third generation of players. When the League was started the MALL fields were ‘in the country’ at the far edge of Houston. Now Houston has grown and the ‘country’ is a twenty minute drive in on a multi-lane road system that didn’t exist then. And a few years ago an elementary school, Ray K. Daily, was built in front of MALL.
Even with all this change there are some important things that haven’t, and won’t. MALL, as part of Little League International, continues to provide a program that promotes personal growth within the framework of youth baseball. Our bylaws state,
“the purpose of Memorial Ashford Little League is to implant firmly in children of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, and respect for authority so that they will be good, decent, healthy, and trustworthy citizens. The attainment of exceptional athletic skills or winning games is secondary. The molding of children into future citizens is of prime importance.
These lofty goals are not simply words. Little League has been serving youth for 70 years, growing from a few thousand participants in 1939 to over 2.5 million worldwide in 2010. Past Little Leaguers have included many Major League baseball players like Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken Jr., and recent World Series Player, Jason Varitek. But not just baseball players benefit from the program, Little League graduates have included former U.S. President, George Bush, current Vice President Joe Biden, community leaders like Rudy Giuliani, and Astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave, entertainers like Kevin Costner and Bruce Springsteen, and athletes from other sports such as golfer Hale Irwin, and legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who received his little league’s Sportsmanship Award.
My oldest son began playing in the "Dad's Pitch" division which is now known as Junior Machine Pitch and continued to play for 8 years at MALL before playing 4 years of high school baseball. My second son, who began playing Tee Ball as a 5 year old, now plays in the Juniors division. This will be my 13th season at MALL. My involvement began when I was asked to volunteer as a "Dugout Dad" and has continued ever since. I encourage everyone to volunteer in some way for the betterment of your son’s experience at MALL.
Within this big city that Houston has become, MALL is still a few baseball fields away from the noise and congestion, where lasting friendships are made and families grow. More important than the wins or loses is … … spending time on the bleachers of MALL rooting for the teams, … talking with my neighbors, … working with other coaches, volunteers and parents, … and watching the boys grow up in an atmosphere of Fun, Family and Youth Baseball.
So, COME JOIN US and be a part of it. Register for the 2012 Season. Be a volunteer! Bring the family to root for your son, his Team, and all of the Boys. Get ready for a Great Time!
I hope to see you at the fields.
LET’S PLAY MALL BALL!
Eugene A. Kuchta
President