The "Nick Morikis Sr." Memorial Scholarship Fund at WMLL

The "Nick Morikis Sr." Memorial Scholarship Fund at WMLL was established in 2010 by his family to continue Nick’s legacy of helping kids.  The Morikis family again made a substantial contribution in 2011 to keep the fund thriving

Every child who wants to play baseball should have the opportunity to play, regardless of need.  100% of the donations to this fund go directly to the scholarship program to help kids in need.  West Madison Little League is a 501c3 organization, so all contributions are 100% tax deductable.  Please mail all donations, payable to WMLL, to Maury Tomczak, WMLL Treasurer, 1026 Hathaway Dr, Madison, WI, 53711.  Please note "Player Scholarship Fund" on your check.  Thank you for your support and to the Morikis family for their efforts to establish and maintain this fund in Nick Sr's name at West Madison Little League.  Nick’s grandchildren (Nico and John Morikis) currently play at WMLL.

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Nick Morikis Sr. grew up in a small city in northwest Indiana, East Gary, later known as Lake Station.   He was the second of five children in a family well known in the small city.  His love of sports began early in his life, and continued through his education, his marriage, and the birth of his children.  He was forced to quit school at the age of 16 to help support his family when his father was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. He returned to school later to finish his education.  He acquired a job with E J & E railroad where he worked for 32 years.  He later advanced to the position of Division Engineer. 

Aside from his job, he was involved with the East Gary Little League as a coach.  When he was 18 years of age, he started the local little league and was voted president; the youngest man to ever hold that position, which he held for many years.  At the age of 24 he married, but his absence from the league was short lived, and he returned to the Lake Station Little League to coach and again held the office of president for many more years.   

Nick later fathered 5 children; three boys and 2 girls; all of which at one time or another were involved in Little League. He also was the founder of Biddy Basketball in East Gary, which all three of his boys were involved in.  As president of the Little League, he instituted many changes to benefit the children involved.  The number of participants increased and parents participated in many moneymaking activities that resulted in purchasing uniforms, equipment and improvements to the Little League field.  Girls soon played Little League and Nick transformed part of the field to accommodate the girls.  Nick was also instrumental in hosting the senior league world series in Merrillville, Indiana.  The teams attending the series included Aruba, Taiwan, and American teams from all four corners of the country.   

Nick was very involved in Little League, and instituted many rules and regulations that participants were required to follow.  Sportsmanship was a must and Nick accepted nothing less.  The one requirement he instituted and was most proud of was that all players were required to play at least one inning in the game.  That way, he knew that all players, regardless of their ability, would play.  Nick later became a District Administrator for Little League for northwest Indiana, and he attended league meetings at the national level.   Nick truly loved Little League, and the positive influence it had on the youth.  All his children participated in the league, and he coached many of the teams they were on.  He instilled high standards to his children to uphold, which later in their lives resulted in all of them becoming very successful.  Nick died at a very young age (47), but he influenced hundreds of kids because of the time and energy he put into sports.    

Click Here for a newspaper article about Nick Sr from the 1981 Senior League World Series