Few events embody the essence of Americana like the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Families from across the country – and across the world – congregate in Smalltown USA to cheer on overachieving children who are living out their dreams, playing baseball games in front of nationally televised audiences.
What’s more American that baseball … aside from apple pie, of course? U-Haul, a company forged from the freedom that came with victory in WWII, makes a pretty strong argument. Founded by a U.S. Navy veteran and his wife in 1945, U-Haul and its orange-clad trucks and trailers have been synonymous with residential moving in America for nearly 80 years.
It only makes sense that two of America’s favorite pastimes – U-Haul and baseball – shared some common ground this August in the Keystone State.
U-Haul Company of Northeastern PA led by president Doug Wynne, and more specifically the U-Haul Moving & Storage of Williamsport center, sponsored the Little League Grand Slam Parade on Aug. 13 to kick off the 2024 LLWS festivities.
“U-Haul is really excited to be a part of this event, being able to represent the company and being able to come out and show our support of the local community,” said Tyler Lariviere, general manager of the Williamsport store.
The local U-Haul team joined the parade promoting U-Box products and carrying the U.S. West representative – the Little League team from Hawaii – on a U-Box flatbed truck. The youngsters riding on the U-Box truck tossed out candy to enthusiastic parade-goers.
Watch WNEP-TV ABC 16’s coverage of the Little League Grand Slam Parade via this link:
The 18th version of the parade featured a vibrant mix of athletes from 20 teams – 10 from regions of the U.S. and 10 from other countries around the globe. Local high school bands, businesses and supporting organizations joined in to create a spirited atmosphere.
The Southeast U.S. team from Florida (Lake Mary) won the 2024 Little League World Series with a dramatic 2-1 win in eight innings over the team representing Chinese Taipei (Taoyuan, Taiwan). It was the first LLWS title for a team from Florida.
The LLWS aired on ABC and averaged 3.5 million viewers — 20% more than last year and the most watched since 2015.
