SUBWAY Restaurants Franchise Kick Off 'Baseball DeSIGNS' Tour with National Little League Baseball Appreciation Game
Total Proceeds from Online Auction to Benefit Little League Urban Initiative
MILFORD, CT /24-7PressRelease/ -- Through its partnership with Little League Baseball and Softball, SUBWAY restaurants announced today, during National Little League Baseball Week, the second annual SUBWAY Baseball DeSIGNS tour commencing with a National Little League Baseball Appreciation Game in Southern California on July 9. The tour will feature baseballs designed by Little Leaguers and autographed by celebrities that will be auctioned off to the public with the total proceeds benefiting the Little League Urban Initiative.
The tour with more than 30 baseballs signed by celebrities / athletes will make stops in four U.S. cities including the final stop in South Williamsport, Pa., at the Little League Baseball World Series. Beginning in Los Angeles, the tour will be accompanied by baseball legends and famous fans of SUBWAY who will be serving as official program spokespeople, which include Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard; former Los Angeles Dodgers great and ESPN personality Orel Hershiser; New York Yankees legend, Bucky Dent; and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Fred Lynn. The tour will also make stops in Anaheim, Calif., during All-Star festivities and in New York City on August 5.
"As part of our commitment to healthy, active lifestyles for kids, SUBWAY Restaurants have been proud sponsors of Little League Baseball and Softball," said Tony Pace, chief marketing officer, SUBWAY Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust. "The Little League Appreciation Game and the SUBWAY Baseball DeSIGNS tour was developed to showcase this great youth sports organization. We look forward to the second year of this program and another great season of kids playing hard and eating fresh."
Gold Glove and Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser and former nine-time All-Star Fred Lynn will serve as celebrity coaches in the 2010 National Little League Baseball Appreciation Game to be held next month at La Cienega Park, Beverly Hills, Calif., giving the Little Leaguers a chance to interact with two of baseball's all-time greats. The legendary ballplayers will also throw out a ceremonial first pitch. The legends will be joined at the exhibition game by SUBWAY national spokesman Jared Fogle.
Celebrities scheduled to autograph baseballs for the tour include the cast from the popular television series "Glee," actors from the hit "Twilight" franchise, cast from "Gossip Girl," swimming great Michael Phelps, professional baseball players CC Sabathia and Ryan Howard, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon among others.
The baseballs will be displayed at SubwayBaseballDesigns.com and SubwayKids.com. Auctions for the celebrity autographed baseballs will open to the public August 20 on eBay, and will run through the Little League Baseball World Series that concludes on August 29.
"We're looking forward to this summer-long event and its culmination in August at the Little League Baseball World Series," said Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League International. "SUBWAY is an important partner in helping us to bring the benefits of Little League to families in the U.S. and around the world. The 'Baseball DeSIGNS' tour will help to enhance those efforts even more."
SUBWAY Restaurants have proudly sponsored Little League Baseball and Softball since 2005 as a way to reach and encourage Little Leaguers and their families to live active lifestyles and eat healthy.
About SUBWAY Restaurants
With more than 32,000 locations in 91 countries, the SUBWAY restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise and famous for its made-to-order footlong and 6-inch submarine sandwiches and salads. The SUBWAY restaurant chain was founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck as a means for then 17-year-old DeLuca to earn enough money to pay for college tuition. That partnership, which continues today, marked the beginning of a remarkable journey — one that made it possible for thousands of individuals to build and succeed in their own business. The SUBWAY brand has been named as the number one franchise opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine's "Annual Franchise 500 " listing 17 times in the past 23 years, and was also ranked by the magazine as "America's Top Global Franchise" for 2009.
About Little League Baseball & Softball
Little League Baseball and Softball is the world's largest and most respected youth sports organization. With players in every U.S. state and more than 70 other countries, the program is led by more than 1 million adult volunteers. It serves children ages 5 through 18, including physically and mentally disabled children (Challenger Division) and children in urban areas (Little League Urban Initiative).
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