Stars and Stripes, Jul. 30, 1953 

FLINGER'S TRICKS-The national pastime of the U.S., baseball, is finding its way into another country in the Far East-Korea.  Pint-sized hardball enthusiasts cluster around Chaplain (Capt.) Paul D. Hutchins, Tucson, Ariz., as he demonstrates the correct finger grip for pitching.  SFC John Hoffman, Centralia, Wash., is also picking up some pointers.  (U.S. Army Photo) 

They Forget Their Hunger

Yanks Bring Baseball To Eager Korea Orphans

By PFC B. E. Fogelberg

 

KOREAN BASE SECTION, July 29-It's "play ball" in Korea.  Little Kim waves his bat at the plate, the crowd roars, and the tall skinny orphan on the mound forgets his hunger and fires a fast one. . . the game is on.

Kids are the same the world over.  And, in war-torn Korea, the youngsters have found a new game to keep them off the streets; a game to relieve the boredom of living in poverty.  It's the American game of baseball.  They love it.  "Little league" baseball has been introduced to the village of Haeundae.  American servicemen are teaching Korean boys a new sense of sportsmanship, along with an introduction to the American way of life.

It started nearly a year ago when a chaplain from Tucson, Ariz., saw the need for clean, wholesome recreation-an activity which would build bodies as well as better U.S. Korean relations.  Because his son is a Little leaguer in Tucson, Capt. Paul D. Hutchins picked a natural-baseball.

BEGINNING with a letter to Tucson, Korea's first Little league has developed into a well-organized, five-team baseball league.  The uniforms are ragged.  And the field is rough and rocky.  But you can't top the spirit anywhere.  Hutchins first wrote to Frank Minarilk, Little league commissioner in Tucson, who promised help.   He passed the story on to the Arizona Daily Star, a Tucson paper which sponsors the Little league there.  The Star kept the ball rolling by assuming sponsorship of the "Arizona-Little Korean Baseball league," even scheduling a Little league benefit game in Tucson to raise money for the Korean teams.

The Korean organization has a board of officers, a general manager, coaches, and umpires composed of servicemen.  A membership charter is en route to Heaundae from Little League Baseball, Inc., Williamsport, Pa.  Except for the location, it could be anywhere in the U.S.

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