The Post-Journal

Local Man Named State Semi-Pro Baseball Head

Louie Collins, Prominent Sportsman, Has Colorful Promotorial Background

Louis W. Collins, for many years a prominent figure in the athletic and sports life of the city, has been appointed by the National Semi-pro Baseball Congress as commissioner of semi-pro baseball of New York State and has been assigned jurisdiction over the territory assigned.

Commissioner Collins will direct the eighth annual sanctioned New York State semi-pro tournament at Jamestown Municipal Stadium, the tourney to be opened on July 19.

The state tournament will be open to all service, industrial and “town” teams with leading clubs sharing in prize money and all visiting entries receiving mileage allowance under uniform plan of the National Baseball Congress.

President Ray Dumont said the New York state champions would qualify directly into the 10th annual National championship tournament at Wichita, Aug. 11to 23.

Dumont and Collins met at a sporting goods dealers’ convention at Chicago last fall and Dumont was so much impressed with the Jamestown man’s record as a promoter that he offered the state baseball commissionership to Collins.

Collins, one of the outstanding athletes of all time graduated from Jamestown High School, has many years of experienced and a background spiced with variety from which to draw in his new promotorial venture. He has promoted about everything, ranging from a contest to ascertain the louder of two peanut roaster whistles to state ice skating and outboard motors tournaments.

He conceived the idea of organized muny and county baseball leagues and was the prime mover in their organization. He has fathered semi-pro and professional football teams in the city, girls’ basketball tournaments, city, district, county and tri-state. He has promoted bicycle races and parades, putting and driving contests, marathon races, city, county and district tennis tourneys, fishing and hunting contests, skating and sailing races, the American Air Cadets, table tennis and dartball tournaments.

It is rather difficult to discover something in the sports line with which Louis Collins has not dabbled.


The additional financial assistance of the community is critical to the success of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.
We gratefully acknowledge these individuals and organizations for their generous support.