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First Union Supports Youth Baseball with Cooperstown Little Major Affinity Card Program Keeps the Dream Alive for Thousands of Young Athletes COOPERSTOWN, NY -- As opening day approaches for the major leagues, thousands of young Americans are also stepping up to the plate in preparation for their summer tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, New York. As an official sponsor of the Cooperstown Little Majors and the Cooperstown Dreams Park, First Union will support the program with a new Cooperstown Little Majors MasterCard©. "We are very excited about the opportunity to work with the Cooperstown Little Majors on this affinity card product," said Mike Walter, vice president in First Union's customer direct access division. "Every transaction cardholders make will help keep the dream alive for thousands of young boys and girls who travel to Cooperstown and play where baseball legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are immortalized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But there is another hall of fame in Cooperstown, lesser known but equally important to this group of 11 - 12 year-old Cooperstown Little Majors -- the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame. The American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame will be housed within the Cooperstown Dreams Park -- a 105 acre facility, with six lighted sod fields and 25 team clubhouses. A portion of First Union's Cooperstown Little Majors MasterCard proceeds will support the Cooperstown Dream Park as they host the second annual summer tournament. There, participating teams from all 50 states are guaranteed at least seven games of play during one of the week-long summer tournaments as well as room and board and official team uniforms. Every team is inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame and given an official hall of fame ring. Once inducted, the teams' pictures will hang in the hall of fame forever. The Cooperstown Little Major founder, Louis Presutti III tells the story of his grandfather, Louis Presutti, taking him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. As they gazed at Babe Ruth's jersey, the grandfather said to his grandson, "Every kid in America should have the opportunity to play baseball here in Cooperstown (NY)," and it was there the dream began for the Cooperstown Little Majors. That dream is made possible by support from the league teams, First Union Corp., Kodak, Pepsi, Hershey, Rawlings and Pizza Hut. The Cooperstown Little Major MasterCard offers the flexibility of revolving credit, the ability to receive cash through ATM machines and acceptance at over 12 million locations worldwide. The card has a rate of prime plus 7.9% APR, no annual fee and will support the Cooperstown Little Majors each time consumers use it. Charlotte-based First Union Corp. provides financial products and services to more than 12 million corporate and retail customers nationwide. First Union is the nation's sixth-largest bank holding company with assets of $140 billion as of December 31, 1996. -- END -- |
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