My first Little League Uniform...

Recently I read a story about a baseball stadium being built in the early days of Little League in my hometown. After reading the story I drifted off and began reminiscing about those days. Like the day I brought home my first ‘well-worn’ minor league (Orioles) uniform in 1959. During that time the minor league uniforms were hand-me-downs from major league teams. I instantly put that bad boy on. It was too big and made me look like I was wearing a potato sack, but in my mind I'm confident that I thought I looked 'magnificent'. It wouldn’t surprise me if slept in my uniform that night, 'cup' and all no doubt. Having to get used to wearing a cup was a trip all in itself. Nothing like having your knucklehead kid running around the house all day in a baggy old wool uniform which smelled like mothballs, while repeatedly punching himself in the crotch to test his ‘cup’.
New caps were issued every year too because by summer’s end, a boy’s cap was undoubtedly well worn and pretty pungent. Customizing your ‘new’ cap was another ritual. First you had to decide if you needed the bill of your cap to be folded. Folding meant your cap's bill would remain either round or squared off. Depending how you customized your cap’s bill, would influence whether or not you creased the top of your cap with your fingers or used cardboard inside to keep it tall and proud up front.
The attached photo is from a teammate Gary Geiger and depicts the Bank of Lansing major league team, circa 1961. Gary is on the far right kneeling and I’m standing on the far left. It looks like I was finally able to get a uniform that fit me magnificently.
And to think that all of my cherished memories involved things before I even played an official game….