New Jersey adopted slogan ‘Bayonne vs. Everybody’
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New Jersey has made quite a mark at the Little League World Series with 21 teams reaching South Williamsport. That includes Toms River which won the 1998 championship and is one of four Garden State world champions.
But No. 21 was a team many discounted; maybe the most surprising. Or at least the Bayonne Little League believed that perception. And then set out to shatter it.
Mission accomplished.
Bayonne adopted the slogan, "Bayonne vs Everybody," this all-star season and has turned critics into believers. Bayonne captured both the first state and regional championships in its league's 75-year history and made its Series debut Wednesday against Massachusetts after entering undefeated.
"That's kind of our little town cry. We've been doing baseball and softball for a long time and through through Little League and travel, our kids are playing a lot of different towns and we always feel like Bayonne is the underdog," Bayonne Little League president Roger Malone said. "We had that feeling like people we're looking down at us. We're a small town in Hudson County and we went to these places and felt like underdogs and it just kind of took off."
The underdog theme makes perfect sense. Some might say Philadelphia's Rocky Balboa is the ultimate underdog, but Balboa was inspired by Bayonne native Chuck Wepner. Nicknamed "The Bayonne Bleeder," Wepner was given no shot against Heavyewight Champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 fight.
Wepner nearly went the distance, only losing when the referee called a TKO with 19 seconds left in the 15th round. Wepner inspired one of cinema's all-time characters.
This Bayonne Little League team is all real. Find their underdog story in the non-fiction section. It sure makes quite a read.
"The kids really have embraced it," Malone said. "It's a big deal for them and they like proving the doubters wrong."
They have done so all summer and attracted a passionate fan base, many who wear "Bayonne vs. Everybody" T-shirts. The thing is, Bayonne has hardly played like an underdog. It battered 12 straight opponents entering the Metro Region championship, outscoring them, 118-20 while piling up baseball's version of the TKO, mercy-rule victories.
But to win the title and reach the Series, Bayonne had to go the distance. Cue the motivational music because twice Bayonne faced four-run deficits before rallying late and defeating Connecticut, 8-6. Suddenly, a team which felt like it was facing the world was now among the world's best 20 teams.
"We've had baseball here forever and softball, too. That was the biggest win for Bayonne ever," Malone said. "It was huge. It was big for the city of Bayonne, Bayonne Little League and the kids."
It also was the culmination of a four-year journey. A core of these current players were on an 8U team and started attaining success there. They might have felt unnoticed throughout the state, but those players kept working and kept improving.
Entering this summer, it felt like all the pieces were there. It was just a matter of putting them all into place. Doing so required not just the players committing so much time and energy, but also the coaches, parents and league volunteers.
Together, the bus was packed and an unforgettable ride began. Bayonne stormed through districts and sectionals before going where no other 12U team ever had before at states. Bayonne steamrolled three opponents, downing Blackwood Kiwanis, 9-3 for the championship.
Less than two weeks later, Bayonne kept the movie-like journey going and became the Metro Region's best team. From underdogs, Bayonne became the top dog.
"It's easily recognizable when you have a special team and you immediately do everything you can to get the kids to stick together. All these kids have tons of opportunities to go play travel baseball, but they bought into Bayonne Little League and trying to get to the Little League World Series," Malone said. "We had parents willing to sacrifice, getting the kids to train and practice with us and it worked. We got to the Little League World Series. That took buy-in from everybody, from the league board, to coaches, to parents, to the players.
"Without that buy-in, you don't get an experience like this."
This experience has swept well beyond Bayonne and captivated New Jersey. Former rivals who may have looked past Bayonne now are among its biggest fans. Bus loads of fans arrived at Bristol last Friday for the Metro Final and created a Major League-like atmosphere with Connecticut also filling up the bleachers.
To really get a feel for how big Bayonne Little League has come, though, go to a bar in Berlin, Germany. Malone's cousin was there and had the owner turn on the Metro Final. By game's end, patrons who had never heard of Bayonne, New Jersey were huge fans.
"Even beyond New Jersey, it's wild," Malone said. "A lot of people who moved to Florida or California had watch parties in their own towns. We got emails from the Toms River team that won it and it makes everybody feel like a family. Little League is the gold standard and once you get there, it's no longer just Bayonne. It's New Jersey and Metro and it's wild how everybody gets behind their representative so well."
Wepner inspired a movie franchise which opened by earning an Oscar and which continued for nearly five decades. What this Bayonne team is doing could create many upcoming sequels as well. Among the team's biggest supporters are those at the younger levels who could someday play the starring roles.
These Bayonne players are larger than life in their eyes. The lesson Bayonne has taught those impressionable fans is that anything is possible. The past does matter. How one is perceived does not matter.
It's all about seizing the opportunities and Bayonne has secured the biggest Little League one out there.
And what started as Bayonne vs. Everybody now feels more like Everybody for Bayonne.
"When they get older, they will remember every part of this experience. We're getting texts from coaches and kids after they arrived there (at the Series) and it's blowing their minds. It's Disney Land for kids."
The big screen has met reality and the Bayonne 2026 Little League team has written a script its town will never forget. They won't let them.
"They're going to be rock stars. They're going to get everything due to them for what they accomplished," Malone said. "It's not just Bayonne Little League. The entire town wants to make sure these kids are celebrated."