Albion Historical Society Speaker Series: Olivet College Coach to Discuss the Origins of T-Ball in Albion

The Albion Historical Society in conjunction with the Albion District Library Local History Room will welcome their first speaker of 2020 as Lonnie Spencer of Olivet College will be discussing the invention of T-ball in Albion and current projects underway to commemorate the role of Albion’s Jerry Sacharski in developing the sport, played today by millions of children around the world.

Jerry Sacharski was a humble, modest man. A teacher in every way, he pioneered the creation of T-ball in the 1950's while director of the recreational league in Albion. At that time, multitudes of young boys turned out to play baseball--nearly 700 in 1959 alone. “We had all these little guys coming out for summer baseball five years ago,” Sacharski told United Press International in 1960, “and just couldn’t send them home.” He observed that many of the youngsters had the most difficulty learning how to hit a ball being pitched to them. As a way to help the children learn that skill and keep them encouranged, he removed the pitching and replaced it with an adjustable tee on home plate. After fashioning his first batting tee out of metal piping, pieces of rubber, and part of a garden hose, Sacharski was able to get the 6-8 year olds playing instead of standing around waiting for some action. On June 25, 1956, what Sacharski initially called “pee-wee baseball” debuted in a league game at a park in Albion.

An Albion native, Lonnie Spencer has had a life-long involvement with baseball. He began playing T-ball at age five and at seven was a member of the 1960 “Summer All-Stars” showcased at Michigan State University. Lonnie went on to play baseball at Springport High School before attending Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo and later Evangel College (now University) in Missouri. He has been involved as a player and coach with both the National Baseball Congress and the American Amateur Baseball Congress. From 2010-2012 he coached at Olivet High School, and now serves as the Assistant Men's and Women's Golf Coach at Olivet College.