Adaptive Baseball Championship Returns to Illinois Roots

The National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its World Series by returning to its Illinois roots next month.

The DuPage Sports Commission (DSC), in partnership with the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, will co-host the 2026 NBBA World Series from August 3—8. Games will be played at the Stuart Sports Complex, a 300-acre athletic venue located in Aurora, Illinois, approximately 40 miles west of downtown Chicago.

The championship is expected to welcome more than 600 visually impaired athletes representing 21 teams from across the United States, as well as family members, fans, volunteers and supporters, for a week of competition.

Founded in Chicago in 1976, the NBBA was established when advocates from Minnesota, Kansas, Texas and Arizona gathered with a shared vision: ensuring that people who are blind or visually impaired could experience the competition, teamwork and camaraderie of baseball. Among those pioneers was Jim Quinn, often referred to as the “Ted Williams of Beep Baseball.”

“Sports have a unique ability to unite people and strengthen communities,” said DSC Director of Sports Igor Bakovic. “Supporting the NBBA World Series reflects the type of impact we strive to create through sports – bringing people together in service of something larger than the game itself.”

Beep Baseball Origins

Beep baseball traces its origins to engineer Charlie Fairbanks, who in 1964 modified a softball by inserting an electronic beeping device so that blind children could play the game.

Over the decades, the equipment evolved into today’s version of the sport, featuring a beeping softball and four-foot-tall buzzing foam bases that guide players through sound. Athletes hit a pitched ball and sprint toward an audible base while defenders race to field the ball and record an out — all without relying on sight.

For those experiencing beep baseball for the first time, an ESPN E60 feature available on DuPageSportsCommission.com introduces viewers to the athletes behind the game, explains the unique rules and equipment, and captures the energy and emotion of World Series competition.

The NBBA World Series has been held annually since 1976 in communities across the United States and internationally, including Taipei, Taiwan, in 2000. Illinois previously hosted the World Series in 1990 in Chicago and 2002 in Glenview.

Chicago remains the only city to have a team represented at every NBBA World Series since the inaugural tournament in 1976. The city’s legacy includes the Chicago Bluffs, Chicago Insight, Chicago Cobras and today’s Chicago Comets, who captured the 2003 World Series title.

The NBBA includes teams in more than 14 states and continues to grow as awareness of adaptive sports expands nationwide. For example, the 2026 World Series tournament will feature more than 100 games throughout the week.