Who is recognized as the founding father of Babe Ruth League?

Marius D. Bonacci is recognized as the founding father of Babe Ruth League.

The organization began in 1951, when 10 men met at the Yardville Hotel in Hamilton, New Jersey, to create a baseball program for boys aged 13 to 15. The league was initially called the Little Bigger League. Babe Ruth League, Inc. credits Bonacci as its founding father while also recognizing the contributions of nine other organizers.

Those nine men were Samuel M. Welch, Ferdinand J. Wagner, Ed Jones, Ted Jasek, Cliff Fovour, Boots Snyder, William Dombrowski, Maskill Paxson and Willard Carson Jr. Their names can cause confusion in quizzes because all 10 men were involved in establishing the program, but Bonacci is the organization’s specifically recognized “Founding Father.”

The league adopted Babe Ruth’s name in 1954, six years after his death, after Claire Merritt Ruth, his widow, met with the organizers and authorized the tribute. Babe Ruth League later became a nationwide youth baseball organization, with divisions built around different age groups.