Robin Van Auken is a freelance writer and owner of The Omnibus, an editorial company promoting and mentoring writers, photographers, individual artists and musicians. She too has served as a Little League volunteer sponsor, team mom, vice president, and concession-stand worker.

Her educational background includes degrees in mass communications (associates/St. Petersburg College) and anthropology/historic archaeology (bachelor's and master's/University of South Florida).

She has been a professional writer for 25 years, writing, corresponding, or editing for newspapers in Florida and Pennsylvania, including the Tampa Tribune and the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

She and her husband, Lance, couple live in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the Little League World Series stadium. Each year, more than 40,000 people gather in their "backyard" to attend and enjoy the series.

Lance was a Little League player from the ages of 7 to 18. Since 1980, he has served as a Little League volunteer in such capacities as umpire, manager, coach, and league vice president. A sportswriter for 11 years, he is presently employed by Little League Baseball as executive director of media relations and communications.

Together, they are the authors of Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball, a book that charts Little League's history from the earliest days and shows how, in many respects, its history parallels America's history: isolation in the beginning; rapid expansion; a civil war of sorts, followed by reconstruction; struggles over civil rights and gender equity; and foreign entanglements. A microcosm of American society, Little League reflects, and is affected by, cultural, political and historical trends.

 

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Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball

(click on image above for a
high-resolution copy)

The Little League Baseball World Series
By Robin Van Auken
Arcadia Series:
IMAGES OF SPORTS
Details: TRADE PAPERBACK/
128 Pages ISBN: 0738510262
Price: $19.99

(click on image above for a
high-resolution copy)

Play Ball! The Story of
Little League Baseball
By Lance & Robin Van Auken
Penn State University Press
140 illustrations/60 color photos
288 pages Trim Size: 8 1/2 x 11
ISBN 0-271-02118-7
Cloth: $35