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Indiana hosted regionals a few times, up by the ice rink on the east side of town. White Township ? Complex.

Revloc and Lilly hosted in 2004. Weather made it a disaster.

But as far as zones, and populations, and talent pools, lets get a few things straight. It is an undeniable fact that Bedford and Claysburg have all of Bedford and good portion of Blair counties to draw from. Due to the amount of travel involved just for home games, they only get kids that are truly committed to playing baseball. Therefore, each team has a few all-stars from various schools, not a collection of kids who hang together and play legion baseball just because their buddies are doing it. So they are always at the top of the standings. Give that same kind of advantage to say - Johnstown - and let them have one legion team with any kid with a Johnstown address and they would be always in first place, too. But as it stands, Johnstown has three legion teams - Cernic's, Richland, and Westmont. And furthermore, any kid who lives in Johnstown, Richland, Westmont, or the immediate suburbs usually either plays in the City Colt League or Highland League until they are 17. There is a mentality in Johnstown that if you don't play in the city - i.e. Roxbury, then you aren't special. Most kids in the Johnstown area stay out of legion until they have no other options and realize that Mommy and Daddy are wrong and that they aren't going to get picked up by Delweld or Martella's when they are 17.

For the rest of the teams, discount population and look at the number of kids in each school. Somerset is a large AAA school, and so is Forest Hills. Every other school is either a small WestPAC school or an LHAC school with other competing leagues in the immediate vicinity. For example, Patton (Cambria Heights) and Lilly (Penn Cambria) kids can also play Federation ball in Altoona.

From what I have seen over the years, the influence the kids from Somerset and Forest Hills receive from their parents is the polar opposite of Johnstown kids. They feel they are superior to Johnstown's leagues and don't feel the need to drive to Roxbury Park three nights a week to prove anything to anyone. So their teams always have a large roster packed with the best players their school has to offer. Therefore they consistently have good teams, that are accustomed to playing together.

The rest of the league is hit or miss. On any given year, Ebensburg, Portage or Meyersdale may have a stud group of kids. Or Richland and Cernic's or Westmont may have a large number of talented 17 year olds come in. But most years the big four dominate, and probably will again this year. Next year, I'll make the same prediction.

At the end of the day, I give St. Michael and Portage a lot of credit because they are able to get the bulk of their high school kids onto their legion teams, and keep them there year after year. Somerset and Meyersdale have it a little easier - where are ther kids going to play if they don't play legion? Claysburg and Bedford are nothing but all-star teams plain and simple. If they would allow Nanty Glo, Ebensbug, Lilly and Patton to make one team or allow Cernic's/Richland/Westmont to make one combined team they would be just as good, and maybe even better. But on the flipside, Stoystown has been drawing from five schools for ten years and still hasn't won a playoff game.

I support about 95 % of what you just said, with 2 exceptions. 1. FH is "AAA" by just a few kids for the current 2 year cycle. From what I heard enrolled in kindergarten look for them to possibly drop all the way to 1 A in not so many years. 2. You really need to compare the past few years ' varsity rosters with the Legion rosters. FH has usually 2-4 of their best players year after year that play Colt and then go to AAABA teams in Johnstown. They don't stay with the Legion for that last year of Legion eligibility, and you can't really blame them, but to say all the studs stay at home? As Col. Sherman Potter of "M*A*S*H used to say- "Horse Hockey!"

FH kindergarten this year is around 120 kids.Will that put them at A or AA? As for studs, Gully currently catching for Martella's, so not all of them "stay home"

A or AA? Guess we'll all have to wait 10 years to find out.

You are right, but my point is that more stay home for them than other teams. Remember how Reighard and Skoner dual-rostered and skipped AAABA league games to play for St. Michael a few years ago. Thats why they always have an 18 man roster while other towns have 12 or 14 kids. It actually does amaze me that so many kids do stay and play at St. Michael. It can't be for the coaching they receive - their head coach is one of the biggest whiners in the history of legion baseball. I wouldn't bring that up, but the fact that he must recite the sportsmanship pledge before every PIAA football and basketball game he officiates is quite disturbing. His actions on the baseball field do not follow that pledge.

It's funny you should say that about Denny Gramling. Lets set aside the fact he's a friend of mine for now. He's only been tossed from 2 games in his entire Legion career, and face it, the officiating is on the bad side for the most part, and since he refs football with a lot of these same umpires, or at least is in the same chapter as many of them, you can't say there is favoritism involved. Over the years, I can't tell you how many kids from other Legion teams would kill to play for Denny. He is about as easy going as they come. He knows his stuff inside and out. You obviously must be one of those rare few that has a beef with D. Gramling. Too bad. There are a lot worse out there. Ask any kid who ever played for Leo Stoy.

I am not sure I understand... You are bragging that he only got ejected from two games in his career when he is 1. A certified PIAA official himself, and of greater importance 2. A manager who should strive to be an example for his players, and according to the legion pledge "Keep his temper"??? He should never, ever get ejected from a baseball game. What kind of example does that set for his players? If anything, favoritism is the only reason he hasn't gotten ejected more than twice.

As far as how many kids would "kill" to play for Denny Gramling, you really don't have a clue, do you? Teams don't like St. Michael because of how they act, not because they win a lot of games. Nobody hates Somerset or Claybsurg or Bedford, but they always win convincingly. Anyone that has ever been around legion baseball in this area knows Denny because of how he conducts himself on the field. Therefore, the burden of proof is on you. You'll have to come up with a lot more than "he knows his stuff inside and out" to make anyone believe otherwise.

I was not present for the first time he got tossed, but I was there the second. You don't have to blow up to get tossed, if the ump has had a bad day, the crowds have him on edge, someone, anyone, says something he mistakenly hears in error, and he tosses you. This is exactly what happened the second time for Gramling. They had words, and the ump said , I quote, " Not another word". Denny was looking for an explanation and tried to engage the ump in further discussion, and either said hey, or but, or whatever, but that was "another word", and he got tossed. Now- usually when there is a serious disagreement with the umps, his son Matt is all over them, thus saving Denny from getting tossed first. Compared to every other Legion manager I've seen, Denny is still one of the best. I did not say perfect. He knows his rule book like few do, and when he's right, others don't like to be shown they are wrong, do they. I still say you have a burr up your backside against Gramling to continue to state the way you have. Did you have an ump's decision against you cost you a game?

say_oww wrote:I am not sure I understand... You are bragging that he only got ejected from two games in his career when he is 1. A certified PIAA official himself, and of greater importance 2. A manager who should strive to be an example for his players, and according to the legion pledge "Keep his temper"??? He should never, ever get ejected from a baseball game. What kind of example does that set for his players? If anything, favoritism is the only reason he hasn't gotten ejected more than twice.

As far as how many kids would "kill" to play for Denny Gramling, you really don't have a clue, do you? Teams don't like St. Michael because of how they act, not because they win a lot of games. Nobody hates Somerset or Claybsurg or Bedford, but they always win convincingly. Anyone that has ever been around legion baseball in this area knows Denny because of how he conducts himself on the field. Therefore, the burden of proof is on you. You'll have to come up with a lot more than "he knows his stuff inside and out" to make anyone believe otherwise.

I don't agree with teams hate St. Michael because of how they act stuff. The only reason for any team to hate St. Michael is for a couple of years when the kids were having fun and had a couple of sayings that they would like to yell during the game. If kids and fans from other teams can't put up with that then that is down right sad. Teams don't like St. Michael because they have great coaches, have fun, and beat up on a lot of teams in the process. People wonder why kids from St. Michael stay to play legion bvaseball, well those are the reasons. They win and they have fun doing so. People need to grow up when they try saying these kids have horrible characters. What kid in high school wouldn't want to have fun and win? That's right, NONE!