History of North Canton Little League
BC -- Before Complex
North Canton was granted a charter to begin to play under the Little League umbrella in 1948; the very first Little League charter granted west of the Allegheny Mountains. The first Little League game ever played in Ohio featured a North Canton team - two days of rain washed out other contests that had been scheduled, allowing North Canton to claim that honor.
Beginning in the early 60's, ball games were played on a stretch of land at the end of 6th Street, adjacent to the Hoover Company. The property expanded to two and then four fields. This tract became known as the Fred Huth Fields and provided many memories for generations of North Canton youth. Mr. Huth was the driving force behind North Canton Little League baseball for 30+ years. Stories of his field preparation are legendary and still abound.
In 1963, North Canton hosted the North Regional Tournament. Teams from Duluth, MN Naperville, IL, Clinton Township, MI., and Painesville, OH, met with Duluth advancing to the LL World Series in Williamsport, PA.
In 1971, 1979 and 1991, our major league Williamsport All-Star teams captured the Ohio District 4 championship and advanced to state tournament play. In 1997, our Junior all-stars (13-yr olds) played for the state crown. A group of minor league (10 year old) boys played in the state tournament in 1993 and another in 1996. A group of Senior Boys (15 & 16 yr. olds) advanced to the State tournament in 1995. In 1994, a 10-yr old team coached by Bob Fox defeated a 9-yr old team in an all-North Canton district hometown tournament final. In 1997, our 10-year olds, coached by Jim Griffin, won the District Hometown championship by beating Tuscarawas County in extra innings on a field where it was almost too dark to see the ball.
The last team to be crowned City Champions were the 1998 Blue Jays coached by Mark Radosevic. The last Ohio State Little League tournament hosted at Huth Fields was in 1997.
AC -- After Complex
On May 5th, 1999, President Gary Giammarco officially opened the Hoover Community Reserve Fields Complex on Easton Street next to Hoover Park. Seven brand new baseball/softball fields sparkled on a warm spring day just made for baseball. This complex was the culmination of a decade of planning and hard work spearheaded by long-time (and current!) board Treasurer, Carl Young. While the name of the complex implies city ownership and maintenance, North Canton Little League receives no public funding and all complex maintenance is the responsibility of NCLL. Funding is primarily through player registrations, league-wide fundraising activities, and concession stand sales. Our complex would not be what it is without our volunteers, most notably League President Gary Giammarco and League Director Tom Meder.
The first home run hit on the fields was by Matt Shilling. In June, the regulation distance Junior field opened.
Our Fields
The complex features seven traditional Little League diamonds (fields 1-7), including four with grass infields, along with a larger, Junior Division field (#8).
In 1999, our signature field (Field 3) was christened Giammarco Family Field in honor of League President Gary Giammarco's long-time commitment to North Canton's youth baseball community. In 2013, Field 5 was named Joe Robinson Field honoring the memory and untimely passing the previous spring of the League Board Member and Team Manager. On Opening Day 2019, Field 2 was named Meder Family Field to honor long-time League Director Tom Meder and Concessions Manager Janet Meder.
Additional Honors
The main walkway leads guests through the center of the complex and is named for Fred Huth - North Canton Little League's first President. The north walkway allows quick access to our Rookie fields (#s 6 and 7) along with our Junior field (#8) and is named for long-time Junior coach Jon Lucas.
Complex Improvements
Our complex has continued to expand and undergo additions over the years. In 2000, a large baseball shaped clock was added to the concession stand. Bulletin boards list important information and feature plaques of our past championship teams. In 2001 the outfield distance was lengthened on field 8 and a pavilion was added to the infield area in 2003. Memorial bricks decorate the concession area with remembrances of past players. Dugout roofs were added in 2005. 2006 saw Field #8 get a completely makeover, including the addition of a grass infield. 2007 started with Field 3 getting re-leveled. Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Kevin Brewster re-built most of our maintenance sheds in 2008. The City of North Canton nearly doubled our available parking with the acquisition of the lot on the far side of the parking lot in 2009. In 2016 the outfield distance on both Fields 1 and 2 were lengthened and now feature "mini Green Monsters" in left field. Center field on #1 also has the added feature of a unique triangle configuration and a distance of 239 feet. In 2019, significant playing surface improvements were made to our Rookie Division Fields 6 and 7.
Tournament Hosts
In July 1999, North Canton Little League hosted the District 4 Hometown tournament finals - this tournament has called North Canton home ever since. North Canton first hosted a state tournament in July 2000 as the 10 best Junior teams met to determine a state champion. We followed up by hosting the same tournament in 2001 and again in 2008. North Canton also hosted the 11 year old State Tournament in consecutive years (2013/2014). Most recently, NCLL hosted the 2017 Intermediate and 2018 Major State Championships.
Past Major League Champions
At the conclusion of each regular season, our Major Division teams play in the City Tournament to determine our league champion. Over the years this tournament has produced many great stories of outstanding individual performances, thrilling games, and memorable upsets. Below are all of our past City Champs since the current complex opened in 1999:
Year Team Manager
1999 Reds Jeff Walsh
2000 Orioles Larry Merten
2001 Rockies Mike Draime
2002 Marlins Joe Monnot
2003 Mariners Steve Anderson
2004 Pirates Mike Appleby
2005 Indians Chris Willams
2006 Indians Chris Willams
2007 Cubs Fred Thomas
2008 Pirates Mike Appleby
2009 Orioles Dave Meadows
2010 Blue Jays Sean McHenry
2011 Rays Bill Binnie
2012 Rangers Paul Miller
2013 Rays Ed Friedl
2014 Orioles Jeff Stocker
2015 Cubs Todd Evans
2016 Orioles Jeff Sabella
2017 Indians Ryan Johanning
2018 Padres Kevin Granito
2019 Mariners Tim McCann
2020 Rangers Tim McCann
2021 Giants Greg Jurica
2022 Pirates Matt Rollyson
District Championships/State Tournament Appearances/State Championships
North Canton Little can rightfully claim to be one of the top programs in the entire state of Ohio. A consistent history of good baseball, a commitment to sportsmanship, a slew of District 4 Championships and state tournament appearances, along with our fair share of Ohio Championships are all honored with plaques located in the display cases located near the concession stand. We encourage all of our visitors to take a trip down memory lane and enjoy these plaques which feature photos of all of our championship teams.
NCLL Dominance 2003- 2006
From 2003 - 2006, North Canton Little dominated Ohio competition, claiming at least one state title each season. The 2003 minor league Williamsport team advanced to State. That same year the Junior Williamsport team won our first state championship and gave a strong representation at Regionals.
2004 saw North Canton dominate District 4 with our 11 year old and Junior teams winning District championships while also placing all 4 semifinalists in the Minor Hometown Tourney. That year our 11s also won the inaugural 11 year old state tournament. 2005 was a banner year for NCLL as our Minor, 11 year old, and Major teams all won district titles and advanced to state tournament play. Tournament play was highlighted by our Minor Division team claiming a state championship right here on our home turf as North Canton hosted the tournament. As great as '05 was, 2006 proved to be even better with our juniors winning state and coming up just short at Regionals, our 11-yr olds winning state, our 12's participating in state, and our 10's falling in the district final game to the eventual state champs.
2009 Champs
2009 is a year that will not soon be forgotten. North Canton simply owned District 4 in '09 as our 10's, 11's and 12's all captured District 4 championships and advanced to state play. The 10's - led by Manager Bill Binnie - brought home the hardware and reigned as Ohio champs.
Sustained Success - 2014 - 2017
From 2014 - 2017, Manager Todd Evans guided a very successful and memorable run that saw the core of his team stay together and annually advance deep into tournament play. Evans' teams won four consecutive District 4 titles, claiming the 11 year old, Major (12), Intermediate (13), and Junior (14) titles. The team also made four straight state tournament appearances, twice winning Ohio championships ('16 and '17), while also finishing 2nd ('15) and 3rd ('14) during this span. In 2016 the team narrowly missed advancing to the Intermediate World Series, losing a 7th inning walk-off heartbreaker in the Central Region championship game. The team took 3rd place in Regionals in 2017.
Back at it - 2019
2019 brought a new group of boys to the conversation when manager Tim McCann led the 11 year old Williamsport team to a District 4 Championship. They went on to represent District 4 and North Canton well at the State Tournament in Cambridge. The team got behind in the double elimination state tournament after losing their first game to a seasoned Cincinnati based team, Hamilton West Side. This determined group of kids fought back, winning their way through the losers bracket, until they came back up against Hamilton West Side in the last game before the brackets merged.
North Canton Major League Home Run Leaders
1997 Pete Fordas
1998 Jeff Bair
1999 Matt Shilling
2000 Ben Van Vranken
2001 Matt Gatien & Collin Boring
2002 Kevin Dahl
2003 Jeff Meek
2004 Tyler Denmeade & Taylor Saeger
2005 Austin Appleby & Zach Haasz
2006 Austin Appleby
2007 Austin Feinberg 12 (Most in new complex)
2008 Romie Harris 12 (Ties complex record)
2009 Chris Machamer
2010 Chris Machamer 12 (Ties complex record)
2011 Nick Binnie
2012 Zach Martin
2013 Ryan Ball
2014 Justin Potvin
2015 Brendan Frank
2016 Dylan Buchanan
2017 Luke Griguolo
2018 none (first season for new bat regulations)
2019 Johnny Logsdon, Chase Beauregard, Jacob Sykeny, Nate Spangler
2020 Ryan Wilkinson
2021 Roman Geiselman
2022 Landyn Provance
NCLL Major League Strikeout Leaders (k/inn)
2000 Evan Merten -- 63/27 & Jason Herold -- 63/32
2001 Mark Lepkowski -- 73/31
2002 BJ Volkert -- 74/33
2003 Joe Monnot -- 69/37
2004 Tyler Denmeade -- 72/33
2005 Josh Wintermantel -- 74/35
2006 Brandon Williams -- 60/31
2007 Anthony Frank -- 66/32.2
2008 Harrison Blackledge -- 56/24.2
2009 Daniel Piero -- 64/31.2
2010 Chris Machamer -- 73/27
2011 Zach McHenry -- 70/30.2
2012 Jordan Hite -- 69/25
2013 Nick Friedl -- 63/28
2014 Owen Blackledge -- 37/24.1
2015 Owen Blackledge -- 42/21.1
2016 Dylan Buchanan -- 48/19.2
2017 Troy Hunka -- 75/42.2
2018 Troy Hunka -- 85/44.2 & Angelo Granito -- 85/37
2019 Matt Guarendi -- 63/27
2020 Preston Lee -- 68/34
2021 Nolan Pellegrino -- 78/34.1
2022 Landyn Provance -- 59/20.2