Famed East Cobb Little League Coach Dies

Richard Hilton guided East Marietta to the 1983 Little League World Series championship.

Richard Hilton, the coach of the East Marietta National Little League team that won the 1983 Little League World Series title, has died. A message on the organization's website said that Hilton passed away late Saturday morning but did not disclose a cause of death. A visitation is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Friday at Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home, 180 Church Street in Marietta. The funeral is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cobb Vineyard Church, 3206 Old Highway 41 in Kennesaw. In lieu of flowers, donations in Hilton's honor are asked to be made to the church. Dubbed "the John Wooden of Little League," Hilton coached at East Marietta, based at Sewell Park, for more than 40 years. In 2011, Hilton was named East Marietta's coaching coordinator.

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East Marietta Wins Georgia Junior Title

This is the first state championship for an East Marietta team since it won the 1983 Little League World Series.

East Marietta Little League capped off a perfect week of baseball in Columbus by beating defending champions Martinez-Evans 6-3 earlier this week in the finals of the 2012 Georgia Junior League Baseball State Championship. They went undefeated (5-0) in the state tournament and advanced one step closer to the 2012 Junior League World Series held in Taylor, Mich., next month. East Marietta next travels to Greenville, S.C., to represent Georgia and compete in the 8-state Southeast Regional Championship beginning Aug. 3. This is the first state title East Marietta has earned at the junior level, consisting of players age 13-14. It marks the second state title claimed by East Marietta since 1983, when the 12-year old team went on to become the …

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East Cobb Astros Return to WWBAs

The 2011 national 14-and-under champions are competing this week at the East Cobb Baseball fields.

Perfect Game’s U14 WWBA National Championship is underway this week at the East Cobb Baseball complex in Northeast Cobb.  The first U14 WWBA National Championship took place in 2007. Since then thirty-two alumni of the event have been drafted, including Kaleb Cowart (2010, Angels, First Round) a native of Adel, Ga. The East Cobb Astros U14s have dominated at the championships, winning all but one championship in the history of the event. The Dulin Dodgers are the only team that has been able to wrestle the championship away from the Astros. The Dodgers took the championship in 2009. Coach Dave Roberts of the East Cobb Astros U14s spoke about the Championship: “The event has grown from 20-some teams to 80-some teams. We’ve been fortunate to…

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East Cobb Invitational Starts Wednesday

Nearly 200 summer travel teams will be playing at the East Cobb Baseball complex next week.

Next week more than 190 summer travel baseball teams from three age groups will make their way to northwest Atlanta for the 2012 Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational. Tournaments for all three age groups -- 14u/15u, 16u, and 17u/18u -- will begin at 9 a.m. June 6 and will culminate at 2 p.m. June 10 with the championship games. The East Cobb Baseball complex, on Lee Waters Road in Northeast Cobb, will host the bulk of the games on its four fields, with several area high schools picking up the rest of the games. Each age division will feature 64 teams. The vast majority of teams registered for the tournament are based in Georgia, with the bulk of the rest coming from neighboring states. At least 550 Georgia natives will be playing in the 17u…

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East Cobb Take Five

Road to Williamsport Starts Today

Here's what you need to know to start the day July 5.

1. We're locked into a pattern of hot days and thunderstorms the rest of the week, the National Weather Service says. There's a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today and a 40 percent chance tonight. The high will be close to 90, and the overnight low will be around 69. We're also under a Code Orange air-quality alert. 2. The local Little League world descends on Sewell Park this week for two tournaments being hosted by the East Marietta National Little League. In the District 2 tournament for 11- and 12-year-olds, East Marietta and four other teams are competing to take the first step toward the Little League World Series next month in Williamsport, PA. The tournament starts with Milford against Murphey Candler Gold at 6 p.m…

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East Cobb Take Five

Transfers, Library Time and Baseball

Here's what you need to know to start the day June 20.

1. Today will be sunny with a high of about 93 and a breeze of 5 to 10 mph gusting to 15 mph, the National Weather Service says. The overnight low will be around 72. 2. The application period for school-choice transfers within Cobb County opens today and runs through July 1. Applications are available at the Cobb County School District website and can be submitted by mail, in person or by fax. More details are available here. The East Cobb schools with space available for at least one grade are Pope, Walton and Wheeler high schools; Dodgen Middle School; and East Side, Eastvalley, Shallowford Falls, Sope Creek and Timber Ridge elementary schools. Here’s the complete list. 3. The weekly session of Family PJ Flicks is today at 6 p.m. at the …

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