AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL HISTORY & FACTS

Minnesota began its participation in American Legion Baseball in the early 1920s. Some Minnesota teams trace their continuous participation back to 1923. Minnesota’s first State Tournament was held in Mankato in 1926, and it has been held every year since, making Minnesota one of only three states in the nation that has held a tournament every year since the program’s national inception in 1926. In 1959, Minnesota topped the nation, by having more registered American Legion teams than any other state. The State held this distinction for nine years. Pennsylvania then surpassed Minnesota, with Minnesota being second for many years. In 2014, however, Minnesota again topped the nation, having 306 teams; Pennsylvania was second with 299 teams, Nebraska was third with 281, Wisconsin was fourth with 207, and Illinois was fifth with 163. 

In 89 years of play in Minnesota, materials have been supplied to over 25,000 teams, who provided playing opportunities to an estimated 375,000 players. In 2014, 306 teams articipated, rostering 4,885 Minnesota youth as players. There are also over 10,000 players, aged 8 through 18, who also play baseball under sponsorship of American Legion community programs, though not in the official American Legion Baseball program. Division I Champions from American Legion Districts across the State, as well as a host team, compete in the annual Minnesota American Legion State Tournament to determine the State Champion. A Division II State Tournament is also held annually, as well as a Jr. Legion State Tournament. 

The Division I National playoff tournaments are a series of tournaments in eight National Regions of American Legion Baseball. A Host team, each State Champion, plus runners-up from several states, including Minnesota, make up the 64 teams competing in eight-team double-elimination regional championship tournaments. (Minnesota’s Division I Champion and its Division I Runner-up both go on to compete in the Central Plains Regional Playoffs, because of the high number of registered teams in Minnesota.) The Regional Champions then compete in the World Series of American Legion Baseball to determine the National Champion. Minnesota has produced five National Champions, as follows:

• Minneapolis Richfield Post 435 in 1943
• Edina Post 471 in 1983
• New Brighton Post 513’s Tri-City Red in 1999
• Rochester Post 592’s Rochester A’s in 2003
• Eden Prairie in 2011

In 2002, Excelsior Post 259 was the National Runner-up; in 2007 and 2010, Eden Prairie was the National Runner-up.