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Players, family members, volunteers, and sponsors gathered on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at the Talladega Superspeedway to mark the end of the 2025 season for the “A League of Our Own” program.

The league was envisioned in 2011 by Ginger Munroe, currently executive assistant to the mayor, inspired by a niece with autism and founded on the idea all children with special needs deserve an opportunity to develop a more positive self-esteem by participating in team sports, backed by the positive reinforcement of volunteers whose hearts led them to also believe in the noble mission.

“A League of Our Own” began fielding baseballs in 2012 with the support of the Oxford City Council, the Oxford Parks and Recreation Department, and local businesses and individuals who helped make participation available at no cost.

With an initial investment by the city of Oxford, and partnerships with Eastman Corporation, Taylor Corporation, and McCartney Construction, the program began playing in a new state-of-the-art baseball field in 2015, designed by architect Cal Munroe, for athletes with all abilities located near the Oxford Civic Center on Recreation Drive. The field contains a rubberized surface, concession stand, press box, dugouts that can accommodate wheelchairs, and covered bleachers.

For the 2025 season, nine teams were comprised of almost 100 players who each struck a hit, got on base, scored, and won.

They were assisted in achieving their personal victories with the charitable team sponsorships of Talladega Superspeedway, 5 Rivers Management/Oxford Exchange, Thomas Shelton – Alfa Insurance, SAGA Construction, 1st Bank of Alabama, Alabama Power Foundation, Eastman Corporation, and Gold Bond Building Products.

Brian Crichton, president of the Talladega Superspeedway, which sponsored two teams and donated the space for the season-ending festivities, told the athletes he was able to visit several league games this season to watch them play.

“You are all just amazing,” he told the athletes.

Crichton also spoke of the “wonderful relationship” the speedway has developed over the past few years with the city of Oxford.

The athletes were taken to the Winners Circle, where Mayor Alton Craft presented each with a trophy and a special pass to the 2025 Festival of Lights, signifying the motto of the league, “Everybody wins.”

The trophy meant for League athlete Hayley Nelson, who passed away in May, was presented to her mother, Teresa, along with a bouquet of purple flowers representing Hayley’s favorite color.

“The children who participate in ‘A League of Our Own’ face daily challenges that are almost incomprehensible,” said Mayor Alton Craft. “Providing a place and a program where those challenges, at least for a time, are neutralized and replaced with a joy that infuses them with a new self-confidence is an appropriate responsibility for any city. The city council and I offer our gratitude to all those volunteers and sponsors who give of themselves in making this possible.”

“A League of Our Own” is a very special program that adds to making Oxford be Alabama at its best!