This large, hand-crafted certificate was presented to Harry Colmery in appreciation for his efforts as executive director of the 1934 Western Sectional Tournament sponsored by the national American Legion organization and hosted by Topeka's Capitol Post 1. In the tournament held August 23-25, 1934, six American Legion Junior Baseball teams from the western half of the country competed to determine which of them would vie against the Eastern Sectional winner for the national championship. It was the second straight year that Topeka hosted the tournament. Teams from the following cities participated in the Western Sectional in 1934: New Orleans, LA; Milwaukee, WI; Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; Wichita, KS; and, Neligh, NE. New Orleans defeated Seattle in the tournament final by a score of 10-6, but the team ultimately lost to Cumberland, MD in the national title series played in Chicago. The certificate of appreciation was signed by members of all six Western Sectional teams, plus the following officials: Senator Arthur Capper; Governor Alf Landon; Topeka Mayor Omar Ketchum; Frank Ripley, President of the Topeka Chamber of Commerce; and, Russell Cook, National Director of the American Legion's Americanism Commission. Topekan Harry Colmery was a long-time local, state, and national leader in the American Legion, as well as a prominent national advocate for veterans' rights. He is widely credited for his role in drafting the G.I. Bill of Rights legislation, and for his advocacy in securing the bill's passage in 1944.
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