P . 12 | APRIL 2022 | THE HAMMONTONIAN
Hammonton won 1949 Little League World Series
LEAGUE , from P . 11 ton Little League .
The league sent a team to what became the Little League World Series that year , and two summers later , in 1949 , the local All-Star squad won the championship .
The players on that team , led by Joey DiGiacomo , Nuncie Sacco and Otha Crowder , were celebrated as national heroes .
Upon their return from Williamsport , where they beat a team from Pensicola , Fla ., a huge parade was held downtown with more than 8,000 people , more than the population of the town , are said to have watched on Bellevue Avenue . Even Miss New Jersey was on hand .
“ It was amazing . We had never seen that many people . And I got a kiss on the cheek from Miss New Jersey ,” Sacco said many years later .
That team ’ s impact on Little League baseball went beyond just winning a championship . DiGiacomo was so dominant on the pitching mound that Little League moved the pitching distance back from 40 to its current 46- feet .
“ It was almost unfair . He overpowered those kids . Without him , we wouldn ’ t have won ,” the team ’ s catcher , Phil DeMarco said .
Hammonton has never been able to repeat that World Championship , but it helped establish what has been the model for Little Leagues around New
1949 LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM .
SEVERAL OF THE 1949 MEMBERS IN 1989
Jersey since the late 1940s .
In the time since then , the league has expanded and developed into an organization that symbolizes what it means to live in Hammonton .
Each year , hundreds of young boys and girls take part in the league ’ s baseball and softball programs . All- Star teams from the league have collected dozens of district , regional and state championships .
Generations of athletes have learned the game from those who came before them , as many former players have gone on to become coaches and administrators in the league .
For example , this season two young members of the LaSasso family will participate in the league , the fourth generation to learn or teach the game at Hammonton Lake Park . Frank LaSasso V and his brother , Gino , are continuing a tradition that started when their great-grandfather , Frank “ Moose ” LaSasso , whose name is on the Senior League field at the Lake Park began as a longtime coach and mentor . There are many families with similar stories and legacies . They are the real story of Hammonton Little League .
In the years since Hammonton won the World Series , Little League Inc . has grown into an enormous , worldwide organization with national tele-
See BASEBALL , P . 13