Little League® International mourns the passing of Charlie Brush, former District 5 Administrator from Pinellas Park, Fla. He was 99.
Mr. Brush was known for promoting Little League® to as many children as possible. In 1990, he was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel regarding the fact that leagues in the Broward and Palm Beach County area of Florida had not yet accepted the relatively new Challenger Division for mentally and physically challenged children.
“Sounds to me like there’s a lot of lazy Little League® presidents over there,” Mr. Brush told the Sentinel, after he formed two Challenger programs in the St. Petersburg area. “If they think it’s difficult to get the league going, they just aren’t trying hard enough. When we got this thing under way, it took off like wildfire.”
Mr. Brush was a Little League® volunteer for more than 56 years, and was a District Administrator for 17 years. The Senior League field at Helen Howarth Community Park, the home of Pinellas Park Little League®, was named in his honor several years ago.
Mr. Brush and his wife Vivian were also longtime volunteers at the Little League® Southern Region Headquarters, formerly located in St. Petersburg.
“A person like Charlie Brush never can truly be lost, because he had such a positive effect on so many lives,” said Lance Van Auken, Vice President of Little League® International and Executive Director of the World of Little League® Museum, who was a volunteer umpire in District 5 before moving to Pennsylvania in 1996. “He was the kind of District Administrator who took a personal interest in all of the leagues, and all of the players in them. His wife Vivian and the entire Brush family are in our thoughts and prayers.”