Tee Ball - History

History

A "Tee Ball" trademark was registered with the United States government by Dayton Hobbs in the early 1970s, but the game's origins date back to at least the 1940s and 50s with several people claiming to be the father of the game. Claude Lewis, director of the Warner Robins, Georgia Recreation Department, formed a tee-ball league in March 1958. 20 children played the first year. Lewis designed rules for the new game and mailed the rule books out to rec departments all over the country and overseas.

Albion, Michigan claims to be the place of invention for the sport in 1956, though Starkville, Mississippi makes a similar claim that t-ball was invented in their town in 1961. According to the Starkville Rotary Club's website: "In 1961, when it was apparent that younger children needed some way to participate in the program, Rotarians Dr. Clyde Muse and W. W. Littlejohn devised the game of t-ball and added it to the summer baseball program." Dr. Hobbs has credited the United States Navy with spreading the game overseas. U.S. presidents since Ronald Reagan have hosted t-ball games on the South Lawn of the White House.