The Babe Ruth League International Board of Directors, during their recent annual meeting, unanimously elected James Rivers of Contoocook, New Hampshire, into its Hall of Fame.

Babe Ruth League, Inc. has more than just top of the line competition.  It has a legacy stacked with exceptional individuals who have given unselfishly of their time and resources to provide all young athletes with an enjoyable, healthy, and educational experience.  Jim Rivers is one of those exceptional individuals. 

Rivers began volunteering for Babe Ruth League in 1986 as a softball umpire, the same time his daughters started playing Babe Ruth Softball.  His first Babe Ruth event was to lead the local television broadcast team for the 1988 Bambino World Series held in Nashua, New Hampshire.  Over the next few years, Rivers served as a Babe Ruth Softball coach, League Vice President, and as an umpire.  In 1994, he volunteered as the stadium announcer for the Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old Baseball World Series held in Concord, New Hampshire.

In 2004, Rivers was assigned to umpire his first Babe Ruth Softball World Series in Abbeville, Louisiana.  Since 2004, he has officiated at 17 different Babe Ruth Softball World Series, several as Umpire-in-Chief. 

In 2005, Jim Rivers was appointed Babe Ruth Softball State Commissioner for New Hampshire, a position he held for more than ten years.  During his tenure, New Hampshire grew into one of the largest Babe Ruth Softball states, consisting of more than 400 teams. 

In 2017, Rivers traded his umpire gear for a microphone to join the live-stream broadcast team for the Babe Ruth Softball World Series.  And each year since, Rivers has continued to work the Babe Ruth Softball World Series, broadcasting games, assisting with Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and serving as Emcee for the Babe Ruth World Series Experience event.

In honor of his four-decade career as a broadcaster, Rivers was inducted into the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.  In 2019, he as inducted into the New England Babe Ruth League Hall of Fame and named the 2019 Russ Monbleau “Babe Ruth Person of the Year.”

The Babe Ruth League International Hall of Fame was established in 1968 to honor those persons and organizations who have played a vital role in the development of the baseball and softball programs.  Each individual or organization, upon induction, receive the coveted Hall of Fame Plaque and are enshrined on the walls at Babe Ruth League Headquarters.  Induction into the Babe Ruth League Hall of Fame is a rather rare honor.  In its history, there have been millions of players and volunteers, yet there are only approximately 250 members in the Babe Ruth League Hall of Fame.