By Andy Walter

DOVER — For a big chunk of Biff Newnam’s life, summer has meant one thing.

Little League.

And even the thought that his summers won’t include a whole lot of youth baseball and softball doesn’t seem right.

“I can’t imagine not being at a ballpark in the summertime,” Newnam said as he sat out at Dover Little League Park on Friday evening. “I’m looking forward to it in a way. ... But it’s going to be strange not being out at the ballpark.

“I’ve already had the president of Smyrna-Clayton Little League tell me it’s time for me to come back and cut grass there,” he joked.

After spending the past 43 years as a Little League coach and administrator, it’s no small thing for Newnam to walk away from volunteering for the organization.

But the 66-year-old Smyrna native has decided that 18 years as the administrator for Kent County’s District I is enough. He’s announced that he’ll be retiring at the end of the all-star tournament season.

Newnam, with a good deal of assistance from his wife, Pauline, is just the third administrator that District I has ever had.
He followed Lynn Deakins, who followed Pat Knight, who first brought Little League to the area in the 1950s.

Delaware District I used to include all of Kent and Sussex County.

There wasn’t any particular reason that Newnam decided to retire now. He still has a couple years left on his current four-year term.

It just felt like the timing was right.

“You need fresh blood,” said Newnam. “You need new people, you need new ideas. I just felt that now is a good time to do it.
“There’s no real frustration or whatever. It’s just a good time to do it.”

The individual leagues in District I are M.O.T. (Middletown), Smyrna-Clayton, Dover, Marydel-Hartly, Camden-Wyoming, Felton, Harrington and Milford. The presidents of those leagues will vote on Newnam’s successor.

Newnam said he knows there’s at least one person who’s interested in the job but wanted to let the process play out.

When Newnam first got involved in Little League as an adult, he spent 23 years coaching Big League baseball. In those days, District I Big League — Little League’s division for 16-18 year-olds — had as many as 10 teams in Kent and Sussex County alone.

“When I really first started coaching Big League, we played every Saturday and Sunday,” said Newnam. “We played Wednesday nights. And I practiced three other nights a week. We spent our time in June and July at the ballpark.”

A number of things have cut into Little League’s participation numbers over the years. The explosion of travel teams in most youth sports and the trend toward kids specializing in one sport have played their roles.

Little League decided to eliminate Big League a few seasons ago. District I had hosted the Eastern Regional in Big League baseball for years, sending several Kent County squads to the World Series.

Of course, the pandemic wiping out most of the Little League season in Delaware last summer didn’t help.

But Newnam thinks Little League still has a future.

“Kids want to play baseball,” he said. “There may not be as many as there was before because of the other options that are out there. And I think local leagues are having to make decisions based on their numbers.

“But that doesn’t mean it can’t be viable. Little League is a unique experience for everybody. It’s a family experience. ... If anybody says, ‘Well, is it really worth it?’ come and watch a game and watch those little 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds just having fun out there. Yes, it still is a part of our communities.”

Newnam is encouraged by Little League’s ‘Sandlot Fun Days’ program where kids are encouraged to come out to a field at a certain day and time to play baseball or softball. But then the kids pick the teams and run the games themselves.

A former mayor and councilman in Smyrna, Newnam is the director of the Delaware State Fire School. So he knows about dealing with people.

He said working as district administrator has taught him some more lessons.

“You learn a lot of things,” said Newnam. “You learn that there are a lot more good people out there than there are bad people. There are people who truly care. I’ve met so many wonderful volunteers.

“Forty years ago, at board meetings, we were saying we didn’t have enough volunteers, we didn’t have enough umpires, we didn’t have enough coaches, we didn’t have enough concession stand (workers). It doesn’t change. It’s still the same. And there’s people that step up, do the job and we move forward.”

Of course, the job comes with its headaches, as well. There are always going to be disagreements in an organization where winning and losing play a major role.

Newnam was asked to name something he won’t miss about being district administrator.

“I won’t miss those individuals who, at times, because they care so much about their kids, are only concerned about their kids,” he said. “I won’t miss the phone call that says, ‘My son did not get picked for the all-star team.’”