In 1951 at the Norton Little League field, the first Little League baseball teams in Western Virginia were organized under the leadership of Dr. Charles Litton, league president, and team managers Jack Hatcher, Eugene Mullins, Ralph Bradley, and Reid Simmons, and they were open to all young boys regardless of the color of their skin. Each of the league’s four teams included an African-American, and the All-Star Team chosen at the end of the season included two African-Americans. The All-Star Team was initially barred from the playoffs if it remained integrated, but the league’s leadership refused to remove the African-American All-Stars. A compromise was finally reached, and the integrated team played at Norton Municipal stadium and won the Virginia State Championship by defeating Charlottesville, the Eastern Division Champions, 12-3 on August 4, 1951.