New Baseball Short Film Highlights Little League World Series

On what would have been Opening Day weekend, when thousands of fans would have been packing the stands and millions more watching baseball on television, the United States Conference of Mayors in partnership with Major League Baseball, is releasing a short film, The City Behind Us: The Story of the Elmora Troopers. The film highlights the Elmora Troopers’ journey to the 2019 Little League World Series – a goal never before achieved in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Many of the Elmora Troopers players first participated in USCM’s PLAY BALL program, a joint initiative launched in 2015 with Major League Baseball, which encourages mayors to engage with citizens, families and their respective city departments to organize individual and community “Play Ball” events. More than 350 mayors participated in the program in 2019.

Just yesterday in a letter to fans, MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said, “While we aren’t on the field today, there will still be plenty of baseball for you to watch.” The City Behind Us will give fans across the country the chance to watch a story that shows how the little league team caught the attention and love of their city, and eventually the whole nation. During the team’s championship run, Major League players such as Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs adopted the “Jersey Shake” as a post-home run celebration in recognition of the team and ESPN began airing their games during peak ratings hours.

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