Background to WQED’s “A Season to Remember – The Baseball Boys of Mon City.” Monongahela Area’s 1952 Little League and 1954 Pony League teams.

WQED recently filmed a documentary about Monongahela’s 1952 Little League World Series finalist team and the 1954 Pony League World Series winning team. The premier broadcast is tonight at 8:00pm on WQED. I believe it will be rebroadcast on Monday and it will be available online at some point. Here is some background information that may increase your enjoyment of the program before you watch it tonight!

• Description of the show from the WQED promotional page – “Since its founding in 1939, Little League Baseball has left its indelible mark on millions of families across the United States. And Western Pennsylvania has one of the most compelling stories ever told in the history of youth baseball. The 1952 Little League All Star team of Monongahela, Washington County won the Pennsylvania state championship and made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. To date, it is the only time a Western Pennsylvania team would compete in the series final. But this wonderful accomplishment would be marred by tragedy. WQED’s 30-minute documentary captures the poignant story through compelling interviews with surviving players, and rare archival film and photos – all leading to a moment of triumph and redemption for the “Baseball Boys of Mon City.
• Link to the 30 second promotional video trailer.
• A remarkable interview with the Emmy award winning producer Beth Dolinar (who grew up in Finleyville PA). Try to listen to this 20 minute interview before watching the documentary. I think you’ll fall in love with Beth and, get some background insight into the documentary and gain respect for her work as a journalist after hearing how carefully she handled the details of the story. Click here to hear the interview. 
• Front page of Monongahela’s Daily Republican after our 1952 Little League Team won the PA state championship. Probably the most remarkable front page in the newspaper’s history.