September 30, 1998 -- Joel Stephens passes away at the age of 22 after a courageous battle with cancer.
December 1998 -- Plans are made to honor the memory of Joel Stephens with an American Legion Baseball Tournament.
July 5, 1999 -- Ferris-Goodridge (NY) wins the eight-team tournament with a 12-5 win over Trumansburg (NY) in the Championship Game.
July 2, 2000 -- The Joel Stephens Tournament expands to 12-teams and three divisions with the addition of the Heaps/Heaps Division. Newburgh (NY) comes back through the losers bracket to beat Corning (NY) 5-0 in the Championship Game.
July 2, 2001 – Bellefonte (PA) won the 2001 Championship with a 7-0 win over Montrose (PA). Cody Zong won two games on the final day of the tournament for Bellefonte.
July 1, 2002 -- Building on the success of the first three years, the Joel Stephens Tournament expands to a 16-team field and forms a partnership with the Josh Palmer Fund to form a second championship for second place teams. Hornell (NY) pulls out a 5-3 victory over Ferris-Goodridge (NY) for the tournament championship. Nepean (ONT) wins the first ever Josh Palmer Fund title with a 11-3 win over Tioga (PA).
July 6, 2003 -- Ferris-Goodridge (NY) becomes the first two-time winner in tournament history by defeating Corning Gray (NY) 5-4 in the Joel Stephens Championship game. Hornell (NY) defeated Bellefonte (PA) 7-2 to take the Josh Palmer Fund Championship.
July 5, 2004 -- Lamm Post (NY) defeated Camillus (NY) 7-4 to capture the Joel Stephens Championship in the tournament’s sixth year. Bradford (PA) outlasted Bath (NY) 9-8 to win the Josh Palmer Fund Championship.
July 6, 2005 -- Syracuse explodes on offense to take the Joel Stephens Championship by a score of 12-2 over Greece. Bradford outlasts Bath 5-2 for the Josh Palmer Fund Championship.
July 3, 2006 -- Montreal scored seven runs in the sixth inning to break up a 3-3 tie and go on to win the eighth Annual Joel Stephens Invitational Tournament with a 10-3 win of Bradford County. In the Palmer Championship, Mansfield’s Travis Rogers, Tyler Rumsey and Cody Thomas combined for a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Brockville.
July 2, 2007 -- Bradford County scores a 9-3 win over Horseheads in the Joel Stephens Championship game. In the Palmer Championship, Mansfield captured the title game with a 12-5 win over Fabius