Michelle Turner Photo
A copy center, a pharmacy, a cleaners, a neighborhood bar. What do they all have in common, besides their New Haven location? They all are sponsors of Walter Pop Smith Little League.
Their names were on display at the teams opened their 58th season by marching from the parking lot of the United Church of Christ and the “Q” House in the Dixwell Neighborhood.
The 20 teams began their march to the diamond between 9 and 9:30 a.m. last Saturday morning. Parents constantly took pictures and streamed onto the sidewalks, greeting one another, A coaches lined up on either side of the teams. They helped to adjust the banners announcing their namesakes. Drivers rode by, slowing down to see the teams, beep their horns in support; motorcycle police help direct traffic. The Nation Drill Team and Drum Corps then started up, their whistles and drums signaling to the crowd to start the less than two mile march.
The league is named after Walter “Pop” Smith, a New Haven native who starred in the Negro Baseball Leagues.
Headed down Dixwell, then making a left on Munson, the 280-plus kids, along with parents, coaches and family members, waved back and smiled at residents who waved from the sidewalks and cars. Their crisp, colorful uniforms seemed to help usher in the season at their field, decorated in pastel-colored light blue and yellow balloons, tied to the fences.
After prayers came the Little League pledge: “Win or lose, I will always do my best…” Then the parent pledge: “I will respect the umpires’ decision.” New Haven’s “Just B” performed the Natonal Anthem. Two parents [one being a mom, in response to complaints last year that “they didn’t have a woman throw out a first pitch”] and Mayor John DeStefano each got to thrpw out the first pitch. Then everyone was asked to leave the fields, so the teams could officially “play ball.”
Th Pop Smith League has four divisions: the Majors, Junior Majors, T‑Ball and the Minors. They have been a staple of community life since 1952, when they started off at DeGale Field, less than a block away from their “new” home established in the 1990s.The league is the third oldest sanctioned league in the state. Pop Smith has won 13state championships and district titles, including the World Series in 1974.
Board President Lynair Walker said the day was dedicated to longtime coach, board member and League President Gary Chambers, who died April 3rd. “We will miss him. He did a lot for this league,” Walker said.