From Little League to the Major Leagues of Life

Youth baseball and softball players, such as the , now , often end up distinguishing themselves as adults.

It makes sense: Playing the game teaches kids maturity, discipline, perseverance and teamwork, and it helps them to learn to focus their energies to achieve big goals.

Clearly, those lessons were learned by the men and women listed below. It's a diverse list that covers sports, music, politics, science and medicine, literature and the arts. And these national notables have more in common than the success they've earned in their individual fields: When they were kids, all played in Little League.

Who knows? Perhaps one of the PTLLE All-Stars--or your young athlete--will emulate their achievement and carve out successes that will last them a lifetime.

The following list comes from Little League International.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - All-Time Leading Scorer in NBA History/NCAA Basketball Champion

Troy Aikman - NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback/Sports Broadcaster

Dusty Baker - 19-year MLB veteran; MLB Manager

Dave Barry - Pulitzer-Prize Winning Columnist/Author

Don Beaver - North Carolina Businessman (played in 1952 Little League Baseball World Series)

Joseph R. Biden - Vice President of U.S./Former U.S Senator

Drew Bledsoe - Former NFL Player

Tom Brady - Super Bowl MVP Quarterback

Drew Brees - Quarterback of the 2010 World Champion New Orleans Saints

Kurt Busch - NASCAR Driver/Sprint Cup Series Champion

Bill Bradley - Former U.S. Senator from New Jersey/Rhodes Scholar/Member of NBA Hall of Fame

George W. Bush - 43rd President of the United States/Former Governor of Texas

Michael Cammarata - NYC Firefighter who lost his life in 9/11 (played in 1991 Little League Baseball World Series)

William Cohen - Former U.S. Secretary of Defense/Former U.S. Senator

Leonard Coleman - Former President of MLB’s National League

Kevin Costner - Academy-Award Winning Actor/Director/Musician

Wilbert Davis - U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (played in 1975 Little League Baseball World Series)

Danny Devito - Professional Actor/Director (from Neptune)

Mike Ditka - NFL Hall of Fame Tight End/Former NFL Coach

Nancy Dosreis - Police Detective (played in the 1979 Little League Softball World Series)

Chris Drury - NHL Player/3-time U.S. Olympian (played in 1989 Little League Baseball World Series)

Tony Dungy - Former NFL Football Player/Former Head Coach of Indianapolis Colts

John Elway - Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback

Brett Favre - NFL Career Leader in Passing Yards

Ray Ferraro - Former NHL Player  (played in 1976 Little League Baseball World Series)

Doug Flutie - Heisman Trophy Winner/Former NFL player/Sports Broadcaster

Dr. Vincent Fortanasce - Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Neurologist/Professor/Author

Dennis Franz - Professional Actor

Jose Maiz Garcia - Player on 1957 Little League Baseball World Series Championship team for Monterrey, Mexico

Kathy Gerring - Professional Golfer

John Grisham - Best-Selling Author

Rudolph Giuliani - Former Mayor of New York

Mark Harmon - Professional Actor

Tony Hawk - Professional Skateboarder

Billy Hunter - Former NFL Player/Executive Director of NBA Players Association

Hale Irwin - Professional Golfer

Jim Kelly - Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback

Dirk Kempthorne - U.S. Senator (Idaho)/U.S. Secretary of the Interior

John Krasinski - Professional actor

Steve LaTarte - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief

Huey Lewis - Professional Singer/Songwriter/Entertainer

Dan Marino - Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback

Stephane Matteau - Former NHL Player (played in 1982 Little League Basebal World Series)

Lloyd McClendon - MLB Players and Manager (played in the 1971 Little League Baseball World Series)

Ross McGinnis - Medal of HonorRecipient

Robert Merton - Nobel Prize Laureate (Economics)

Joe Montana - Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback

Brent Musburger - Sports Broadcaster

Dr. Story Musgrave - NASA Astronaut/Pilot/Hubble Space Telescope Repairer

Dale Murphy - Retired MLB Player

Ozzie Newsome - Hall of Fame NFL Tight End

B.J. Novak - Professional actor and TV writer

Dan O’Brien - Olympic Decathlon Gold Medal Winner

Gen. Peter Pace - Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/U.S. Marine Combat Veteran

Jim Palmer - Hall of Fame MLB Pitcher, Cy Young Award Winner, Broadcaster

Kyle Petty - Former NASCAR Driver

Laffit Pincay, Jr. - National Horse Racing Hall of Fame Jockey

Michael Pladus - National Principal of the Year

Edward Prescott - Nobel Prize Laureate (Economics)

Dan Quayle - Former U.S. Senator/Former Vice President

Ron Ricks - Executive Vice President of Southwest Airlines (played in 1962 Little League Baseball World Series)

Cal Ripken Jr. - Hall of Fame MLB Shortstop

Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees Relief Pitcher

Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback of 2011 World Champion Green Bay Packers

Kurt Russell - Professional Actor

Nolan Ryan - Hall of Fame MLB Pitcher

Adam Sandler - Professional Actor/Comedian

Mike Schmidt - Hall of Fame MLB Third Baseman

Turk Schonert - Former NFL Player (played in 1968 Little League Baseball World Series)

H. Lee Scott - President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Tom Seaver - Hall of Fame MLB Pitcher

Tom Selleck - Professional Actor

Brian Sipe - Former NFL Quarterback (played in 1961 Little League Baseball World Series)

Dr. Robert Sloan - Former President of Baylor UniversityMichael Smith - NASA Shuttle Pilot

Bruce Springsteen - Professional Singer/Songwriter/Entertainer

Steve Spurrier - Heisman Trophy Winner/College Football Coach

Dr. Robert Stratta - Transplant Surgeon (played in 1967 Little League Baseball World Series)

Al Trautwig - Sports Broadcaster

Rudy Tomjanovich - NBA All-Star Player/NBA Coach

Pierre Turgeon - Former NHL Player (played in 1982 Little League Baseball World Series)

Adam Vinatieri - Place Kicker for Indianapolis Colts

Dick Vitale - Sports Commentator/College, Professional Basketball Coach

Krissy Wendell - Olympic Silver Medalist (played in the 1994 Little League Baseball World Series)

George Will - Political Analyst/Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist/Author