The Early Years?The year 1950 holds a special connection for little league baseball in Bowling Green. This was the year four teams with approximately 40 players first began playing informal little league baseball with the help of local merchants who sponsored and managed these teams. Interest in the league grew at an extraordinary rate as more children and parents became involved and additional sponsors were called on to accommodate the eager participants.
By 1952, the size of the league had nearly tripled and the Bowling Green Pewee league was founded. In that same year, the leaders of the league purchased property on Mercer Road . Additional diamonds were constructed through the early 1960′s.

In 1975 girls at all ages began playing. By 1988, the Pewee League offered the opportunity for over 600 boys and girls, ages 7 to 16, to play summer baseball. Several additions to the park included a concession stand/press box building, fencing, a maintenance/restroom building, and other minor improvements.

While the number of players desiring to participate continued to increase, the size of the park restricted the availability of diamonds and thus limited the number of players. Due to these limitations, players had to either attend school or live in the Bowling Green City School District.
The commitment of parents and community leaders really helped to grow the league from its inception to the late 80′s. These people served in every area of the league from coaches to umpires, fund raisers to concession workers, and even just as laborers willing to put in the time to maintain and grow the league. The first couple decades of the Peewee Park were largely responsible for a great amount of the park’s growth and change.

Carter Park Today?Starting in the 1990′s, youth baseball in Bowling Green had upgraded to a five diamond complex in Carter Park. The Carter family originally donated the acreage for Carter Park in 1989 and the city was able to grow and maintain it to what it is today.

This facility made spring and summer baseball available for kids ages 4-18 in Bowling Green as well as the surrounding communities. While the number of participants has decreased slightly from the 1975 numbers, anywhere from 400-480 kids come out each summer to play at Carter Park. The new facility makes it possible for at least 6 tournaments to be held during May, June and July, drawing in almost 400 out of town teams.

The youth baseball program has expanded to offer both a house program and a travel program. The travel program encourages a more competitive environment and presents players the opportunity to play baseball at a higher level with team try-outs and cuts.

While the baseball program has improved its facilities and programs, it still relies heavily on the dedication of volunteers. All coaches in the league are volunteers, as well as the 13 member board that oversees the program. The facility has a hall of fame area for all the past people that have given hours, time, and money to the park.

League president, Tim Dunn, stresses the importance of keeping the grounds maintained and the continuous improvement of the facility. He believes the thing that makes Carter Park stand out among other facilities is the commitment of the park employees ?and volunteers.

Credit  Given Where  Credit’s Due?Tim Dunn jockeys roles between vice-president and co-owner of Dunn Funeral Home as well as devoting countless hours each year as president of the youth baseball organization. His duties include scheduling, director of six to seven summer tournaments, hiring grounds crew, running the day to day operations, fundraising, and many other numerous details to keep the league running well and the park looking immaculate.

“A lot of different facilities have opened [and] the thing that happens after they open is they start going downhill. The monies don’t go back into the park; you start seeing fencing getting beat up and fields not being maintained and groomed and paint falling off. Not here at Carter,” he says.
Dunn highlighted the immaculate conditions of Carter Park’s grounds. ?The money that the park makes is reinvested to keep the facilities looking even better than opening day of the park back in the 90′s. “I feel that I have the best grounds crew that you can possibly have. There’s not a cigarette butt anywhere, there’s no trash anywhere, and things are painted and maintained at a high level. That’s what we try to do,” Dunn said.

In addition to volunteers and the hard working staff of Carter Park’s facilities, local Bowling Green businesses continue to play a crucial role in the existence of the youth baseball league. Season after season these businesses support and pay for uniforms and equipment for every team in the league. Some of the teams have been sponsored since 1952.
Other ways Carter Park is able to fund its existence is through sponsor sign ads on their outfield fences. Over 100 businesses in Bowling Green promote their company and the youth baseball programs through purchase of these signs. The park’s next financial challenge is to build a new concession stand with more space and updated restrooms that can accommodate more patrons.

Community Going  to  Bat?Dunn also mentioned the extensive support for Carter Park from the community. “Chip Myles at Dairy Queen, Rob from Schwind Electric, Eric Palmer, the city of BG, Neil Gearhart- these are all guys that are so solid for us. When we need heavy equipment, you have to ask some pretty strong business people that have that type of thing. For example, this winter our batting cage fell in from the ice and snow and Eric came out with his own crew that he was paying and they took two days and rebuilt our batting cage.” Accolades should also go out to: Dick Allesse, Dave Schumacher, and Gerald Bradley. (Grounds Crew) Shaun Crusa (Concessions) Kevin Brechmacher (Umpire) Jeff McIntyre (Web Site) as well as Dunn’s league officers including Fred & Libby Riggs (VP & Secretary).

For additional information about the BG Youth Baseball program, contact league president, Tim Dunn at 419-353-2918 or via email at tdunnbb@yahoo.com The office web site of the league can be found at www.bgbaseball.com

In Commemoration?Sorrowfully, Carter Park lost two very close members of their baseball family this past spring. The Vice President of the league for 30 years, Mike Henschen, passed away in February. Dunn mentioned honoring Mike’s name and his family by doing something permanent in the park. Krista Bowen, mother of two twin boys that participate in the tee-ball league at the park, also passed away. Krista’s husband Andy coaches one of the teams. These two individuals will be greatly missed by those who keep Carter Park close to their hearts.