Goodlettsville Little League Coach Dies

GOODLETTSVILLE, TN -- Dennis Birdwell, the man who led Goodlettsville to two Little League World Series appearances, sparking a resurgence in Little League baseball in the Nashville area, died Tuesday night.

"Dennis Birdwell passed away today and the loss to those who knew him as well as our program is completely indescribable. Dennis was and always will be the reason Goodlettsville Baseball is the greatest baseball league in Tennessee. There is not a single person that has come through our park that hasn’t been affected by him in some way," the Goodlettsville Baseball Facebook announced.

Arrangements for Birdwell, 45, are still pending.

Goodlettsville won the Southeast region in 2012 and made it all the way to the Little League World Series championship, winning the U.S. title before losing to Tokyo Kitasuna in the world championship. Goodlettsville qualified once again in 2016, losing in the U.S. championship game.

The 2012 team was the first from the Nashville area to qualify for the tournament in South Williamsport, Penn., since the 1960s and the first Nashville team to win the state tournament since 2004. Since 2011, a Nashville team has won the Tennessee championship every year and, in addition to Goodlettsville's two appearances, South Nashville has won the Southeast championship three times to qualify for the LLWS.

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