Little League searches for Jack Losch Sportsmanship Award recipient
Behind the competitive nature of baseball is a spirit of sportsmanship essential to playing the sport.
“What has always made the Little League program unique is the high level of sportsmanship displayed at every level of the program, both on and off the field,” said Kevin Fountain, director of media relations for Little League International.
That’s why the Little League World Series is in the process of soliciting votes from members of the media, team hosts, staff members and volunteers involved with participating teams to award the Jack Losch Team Sportsmanship Award.
Jack Losch played center field on the first Little League World Championship team in 1947, although he later went on to play football at the University of Miami. Losch set records at college, and was an All-American during his senior year in 1955.
Losch later became the first participant in the World Series to go on to play a professional sport when he signed on with the Green Bay Packers.
In 2004, Little League began awarding a sportsmanship award in Losch’s memory “that exemplifies a tremendous amount of sportsmanship both on and off the field,” Fountain said.
That includes dormitories, dining hall and interview, while weighing in performance on the field.
The last time a team received the award was in 2019, when Cacique Mara Little League from Maracaibo, Venezuela, took it home.
This year, the winner of the Jack Losch Team Sportsmanship Award will be announced prior to the final championship game during the Series, and its presentation and the amount of celebration will depend on when the team intends on leaving the competition.
Fountain encouraged children ages four to 16 to go out and play baseball to “learn, grow and connect” with others.
“Sportsmanship will always be one of the most important pillars of the Little League program,” Fountain said.