‘An era ends in Frederick sports’
That Frederick News-Post (FNP) headline rang true when printed on August 26, 1985, but it resonates even more today. The article, written by longtime FNP sports editor Stan Goldberg, marked the end of a significant chapter in Frederick’s sports history: the conclusion of the 1985 Babe Ruth League 16-18-year-old World Series, held at McCurdy Field.
This summer marks 40 years since Frederick last hosted a Babe Ruth World Series. In fact, outside of the Cal Ripken divisions established in the 2000s and hosted at Ripken’s complex in Aberdeen, Maryland, between 2003-2016, no city in the State has hosted a Babe Ruth World Series since that final game in 1985.
Heritage Frederick holds a piece of that local baseball legacy: an original program from the City’s first Babe Ruth League World Series event for 13-year-olds in 1982. You can view the program in its entirety at the end of this blog post.
Between 1982 and 1985, Frederick hosted three Babe Ruth League World Series tournaments, then considered the pinnacle of youth baseball for those age groups in the United States. According to the News-Post article, more than 100,000 fans attended the three events. Teams traveled from as far as California and Washington to compete. St. Bernard of Brooklyn, New York, won the 13-year-old title in 1982, followed by Culver City, California, as the 13-15-year-old champs in 1983, and finally Sarasota, Florida as the 16-18-year-old champions in 1985. As host city, Frederick was granted a team in each event and more than held its own, finishing as high as third place in 1983, which at the time was the highest-ever finish by a host team. Frederick’s final game that year drew 8,000 spectators to see a showdown with a team from Nashville, Tennessee. The 1983 Frederick team featured Doug Smallwood, a rising star from Thomas Johnson High School, who earned tournament MVP honors and later continued his baseball career in the minor leagues.
The 1985 event, with several college-bound players, was the least attended but featured the most talent. Sarasota won with a roster that included future Major League Baseball player David Howard and minor leaguers Scott Miller and Mark Dawn. Frederick’s roster included Dell Ahalt, who would later play in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Interestingly, Ahalt would return to McCurdy Field four years later as a member of the original Frederick Keys team in 1989.
There was talk in 1985 of Frederick becoming a regular host for Babe Ruth World Series events, but that never materialized. In the summer of 1985, the 1986 and 1987 age-group events had been awarded to other cities. Frederick put in a bid for the 1988 16-18-year-old World Series, but it was awarded to Newark, Ohio. After that, the local organizing committee never submitted another bid.
News accounts at the time reported that just minutes after the final out at the 1985 event, Babe Ruth League officials began dismantling the banners, press box staff started clearing out their equipment, and city workers started the annual transformation of the stadium from baseball to youth and Frederick Falcons football. Just as quickly as the Babe Ruth League World Series rolled into town, it was gone.
The Souvenir Program
The souvenir program in Heritage Frederick’s collection sold for just $1 in 1982; it’s a 64-page time capsule wrapped in a glossy red, white, and blue cover, welcoming guests to the Babe Ruth World Series held August 14 through 21 at McCurdy Field. Inside, dark blue ink carries across pages filled with team photos, rosters, tournament brackets, and blank scorecards. Local businesses proudly advertised throughout, more than 60 in all, capturing the unique flavor of early 1980s Frederick.
Alongside familiar tournament essentials are a series of official welcome letters from Babe Ruth League officials, local and state dignitaries, and even a brief greeting from then-President Ronald Reagan. On each team’s page, beneath the team photo, are the team “princesses,” local girls who took part in the pageantry of the event.
The advertisements read like a roll call of early 1980s Frederick. Long-gone businesses, such as The Donut Shoppe, Freez-King, The Farm, Eastalco, Shipley’s Inc., the I-70 Truck Stop, and the Frederick Towne Mall, sit beside enduring local staples, such as Tate Chrysler, Morgan-Keller Inc., Noland, and The Red Horse. Flipping through the program today, one can relive a tournament and rediscover a growing community, as well as its brief moment on the national stage.
Click on the cover of the program below to view a digitized version of this document.
August 7, 2025 by Sheldon Shealer, Heritage Frederick Volunteer