Little League globe sparks college collaboration
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Photos by Tom Speicher, writer/video producer (unless otherwise noted)
The painstaking work of bringing the stainless-steel globe to life requires the welding of rods, one at a time. The 6-foot creation will be placed at Little League International's complex in South Williamsport in time for the 2025 Little League Baseball World Series in August.
Welding students at Pennsylvania College of Technology are the spark behind an ambitious Spring Semester initiative that will benefit Little League Baseball. Under the direction of Michael R. Allen, instructor and co-department head of welding, about 70 students in five sections of his Welding Blueprint & Layout II class are fabricating a stainless-steel globe to be placed on the Little League complex in South Williamsport.
“This is probably the most unique project that we’ve done since we opened the new welding facility. It’s not every day that you’re going to build a globe,” Allen said. “It will be made of stainless-steel round stock that will be basically rolled into circles and welded up. We’ll be using at least 700 feet of round stock, about 7 feet of schedule-40 stainless-steel 6-inch pipe and some 3-inch plate.”
The project is about halfway complete.
The globe will feature metal representations of the continents. A CNC plasma cutter will be employed to cut out the continents. An English wheel, often used by automotive restoration students, will curve the continents before they are welded to the globe.
The structure will be 6 feet in diameter and stand a little over 6-feet tall.
In Penn College's impressive welding lab, the globe is positioned on its side to allow students easy access. If upright, the top of the globe would be difficult to weld.
Little League officials devised the globe idea a few years ago to visually represent the organization’s worldwide impact to the thousands who attend the annual Little League Baseball World Series.
Danielle N. Gannon, a graphic designer at Little League International and a 2022 Penn College graduate, developed the concept drawing for the globe. Through Workforce Development at Penn College, Craig A. Miller, assistant professor of engineering design technology, produced the engineering documents for the project.
The goal is for the globe to be finalized by the end of the semester and placed at a location to be determined on the Little League complex prior to the 2025 Little League World Series, scheduled for Aug. 13-24.
Tom Speicher, writer/video producer in Penn College's Public Relations & Marketing department, is creating a video that will chronicle the project from start to finish.
Watch Penn College News for more coverage of the Little League globe project.
Craig A. Miller, assistant professor of engineering design technology, produced the engineering documents to guide the students’ work.
Early in the semester, welding instructor Michael R. Allen reveals the scope of the ambitious project.
A CNC plasma cutter forms one of the support posts for the globe.
Fabricating the base for the globe was one of the first steps.
The openings in the base will allow the globe to be moved via forklift.
A stainless-steel rod makes its way through an angle roller …
... and then is measured to ensure that it’s rolled to the correct diameter.
The individual rods must be positioned before …
... tack welds are applied to hold them in place.
These rods are secure after the welding process.
A fuller globe takes shape. In the background is a practice globe. Work on that convinced Allen that the “real” globe must be on its side throughout the fabrication process. (Photo by Alexandra Butler, photographer/photo editor)