Albuquerque Native Donates $5,000 to Belen Little League, Launches Youth Foundation

Sam Kunzman stood at a Belen baseball field Saturday morning with an oversized check and a pointed argument: that America's pastime has become something too many families can no longer afford.

Kunzman, an Albuquerque native who works in real estate private equity in Dallas, presented a $5,000 donation to Belen Little League on March 21, the first gift from his newly formed James S. Kunzman Foundation. The presentation came before the first games of Belen's Little League season, and the money is already earmarked for the kind of gear that quietly defines whether a kid can step onto the field.

"America's pastime should be for everybody," Kunzman said. "A lot of people are being priced out, and I thought that was wrong, un-American. That was not what my father believed in."

The foundation carries his father's name, James S. Kunzman, who was the club pro at the Belen golf course, the same course where Sam's parents first met. That personal connection made Belen the logical starting point for an initiative Kunzman wants to grow far beyond New Mexico.

Belen Little League board member Michele Todd said the $5,000 will go directly toward equipment upgrades. "It's going to help us buy better quality equipment," she said, pointing specifically to catcher's gear. "Unfortunately, the equipment we can afford doesn't quite last as long as we'd like it to."

Kunzman described the donation as built for durability rather than a single season. "It's for multi-season impacts," he said, citing bases, balls, tees, and jerseys as items the league can use for years. He added that future support could go further: "In the future we want to help solve bigger problems, things like helping with their facility, recruitment of new players, recruitment of coaches."

Las Cruces and Albuquerque Little Leagues are already on his list of future targets, and Kunzman said he envisions eventually taking the foundation into other states. "The goal is also to be in other states and help other kids. I have a grand plan," he said, noting he is still fine-tuning the operational details.

The foundation's broader mission, as Kunzman frames it, is straightforward: "The whole goal is to try and bring people together, keep kids playing. Then, in the future, expand the game to get more kids playing. It's just about equality of opportunity."

With his father's name on the door, Kunzman said he is not treating this as a one-time gesture. Belen was where the story started; the question now is how far it goes.