Introducing Baseball to the Youth of Wichita

League 42, named in honor of the great Jackie Robinson, the first African-American in Major League Baseball, is a youth baseball league that serves children, ages 5-14, in athletics and education. Our games are played at historic McAdams Park in central Wichita, near 17th Street North and Wabash.
Registration for League 42 takes place in the fall and the cost is $30 per child or family of siblings as we strive to make baseball affordable for all who want to play. That fee provides each player with a full uniform (jersey, pants, belt, and hat), a baseball glove (if needed), and additional playing equipment such as catcher’s gear, bats, and balls.

The History of League 42

League 42 was founded in July 2013, to fill a void so that Wichita’s urban children could have an opportunity to play baseball without the exorbitant costs of playing in organized or even recreational leagues. We were able to field 16 teams, filled with just more than 200 players, for our first season in 2014. From there, the league has grown to more than 600 kids on 46 teams in 2023. Our home is McAdams Park, a historical park in Wichita’s inner city where so many great athletes got their start, including Barry Sanders and Lynette Woodard. We play on fields at the north end of McAdams and utilized a $1.5 contribution from the city of Wichita in 2015 to enhance the facility with a third field, a restroom/concession facility, and improvements to two existing fields. In 2023, we unveiled the Fidelity Bank Field, giving us four fields and easing our overcrowding. We also opened the Leslie Rudd Learning Center, which serves as our office and houses our education programs: Bright Lights, Passion Project, Bats and Badges and Full Count.
Through our volunteer coaches, students from Wichita State University’s Rudd Scholars, adult volunteer tutors and an incredible staff and board of directors, League 42 has exceeded our wildest dreams as we continue to provide assistance and fun for the many kids and families who support us.
In early 2024, the Jackie Robinson statue that we erected in 2021 to honor our namesake was stolen from its rightful place in the Jackie Robinson Pavilion at McAdams Park. Thanks to the generosity of many, including Major League Baseball, we were able to raise the necessary funds to replace the statue, which we did with an unveiling on Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly 500 people attended that unveiling, including a contingent from MLB that included former pitching great CC Sabethia. Jackie Robinson is a vital part of League 42 as someone who overcame tremendous adversity and blatant racism to become the first Black player in Major League Baseball in 1947. We are inspired by his story.