RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Former Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Kent Tekulve, left, trades stories with Chicago Cubs, Hall of Fame outfielder Andre Dawson prior to the Little League Classic golf tournament on Monday at the Williamsport Country Club.

It got him thinking afterwards though about when he used to play youth baseball. So when he got back home, he looked around his house and actually found his very first Little League uniform from when he played as a 9-year-old kid in Ohio. He packed it up in a box and sent it to Steve Keener at Little League.

Being reminded of playing youth baseball and being around the sport is something he enjoys and Monday morning, he was able to do just that by representing the Pittsburgh Pirates for Little League’s annual Golf Classic at the Williamsport Country Club.

Tekulve was joined by National Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, who represented the Chicago Cubs in advance of this year’s MLB Little League Classic, which will be played at Bowman Field.

For both players, being able to represent their respective clubs is an honor and for Tekulve, being around youth baseball is something he always enjoys.

“It’s been many, many years — way too many — since I’ve been able to go out on the field and represent the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now to be able to do it again in a different way is really exciting for me particularly because it’s connected with Little League Baseball, youth baseball, where for our players at bigger level, this is where it started,” Tekulve said. “To be able to come back and be involved in the program, especially one like this that takes the professional players and amateur players and brings them together is really something special.”

Playing Little League is where many players start their baseball careers that end up in the big leagues. For Tekulve, it’s where he got his start as a 9-year-old kid. After being reminded of his youth playing days at that tournament years ago, Tekulve now has two jerseys together in his house: his first Little League jersey and one from Game 7 of the 1979 World Series where Tekulve earned the save against the Baltimore Orioles to help the Pirates win the title.

“So I got jersey from the first game I ever played to probably the most important game I ever played,” Tekulve said of the two jerseys. “So that was pretty cool to bookend your career with those two jerseys.”

This is the third installment of the MLB Little League Classic and Dawson mentioned how he would have enjoyed it had the game been around during his playing days.

“Just the idea of I’m going to be playing a game on television and everyone around the country’s going to be watching can be a little nerve-racking, but at the same time, especially when you’re out there having success, for me I would welcome it and really look forward to it,” Dawson said. “It’s got to be exciting for them. They (big leaguers) probably have it marked on their calendars and looked forward to it the entirety of this year.”

When the first MLB Little League Classic was introduced three years ago between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, Tekulve remembers pondering whether or not this idea would work with having players compete Saturday, fly to Williamsport the next day, interact with kids the entire day at the Series, play a professional game at a small ballpark and then fly out.

“You thought about all those things and it was like ‘boy, I don’t know if this is going to be a good idea or not,'” Tekulve said. “When I talked to the players when they came back, they wouldn’t have traded it for anything because it’s actually a chance for them to interact as if they were kids. You’re actually interacting with yourself because you’re around the game of baseball, you’re playing the game of baseball, you’re playing the game that you love and still do that.

“I think everybody’s immediate perceptions were ‘I don’t know about this. This could be tough’ to ‘I can’t wait do it again.'”

For Dawson, he knows that the Little League players lucky enough to get to the Series will be in for a treat to be able to attend the Classic.

“I think they’re going to have fun. They get a chance to get up close, touch, feel, talk to a lot of players they probably idolize because both teams have some real good, exciting star ball players,” Dawson said. “I get the opportunity to come here and help kick things off and it should be fun.”