It started as just a junior tournament held on one field.

Now, the annual baseball event known as the John B. Steele Tournament includes more than 40 teams from all over the state and Rhode Island, with four different divisions playing on five diamonds at the Crapo Field complex at 225 Russells Mills Road.

The Dartmouth Youth Activity Association’s (DYAA) tournament will be held over the next two weekends starting July 31. Tournament Director Jimmy Vieira said the junior tournament started more than 50 years ago.

“It’s probably the oldest tournament in Southeastern Massachusetts that I know of,” said Vieira.

A few years back, the tournament went from being held over three weekends to two, which Vieira attributed mainly to input from coaches. Some said that if their teams were eliminated on the first weekend, they’d be out of a chance to participate in another tournament the following weekend.

As a result, each division is limited to one weekend, with two divisions to play each weekend. Those include the 10-and-under, 12-and-under, 13-year-old, and 15-and-under divisions.

Steele, whom the tournament’s named after, was instrumental in building up the DYAA at its origins.

“I think the tournament’s one of the best in the area, and it’s because of Jimmy,” said Steele’s grandson Bob Steele. “They have the best trophies, someone to announce and score every game and it’s not just last minute. They do a great job.”

As of Tuesday, DYAA crews and inmates from the Bristol County House of Corrections were working to prepare the fields for the event. Despite the compliments, Vieira, who’s been the director for more than 20 years and has been involved with the DYAA for 42 years, said it’s the workers and the volunteers that really make the event special.

“We really go all out with the volunteers,” he said. “We take all the stats by hand, we know exactly what everyone’s doing. It’s a huge task.”

Vieira also thanked Sheriff Tom Hodgson for providing the extra workers to help prepare the fields, as well as head groundskeeper Steve Ormonde.

“The girls are doing a great job,” added Ormonde of the inmates.

“I’m proud to showcase what we have here. We have four little league fields with lights, and we have one high school-sized field with lights. We have a scorer’s booth on every field and dugouts. And the concession stand takes a lot, too. We'll have items we don’t usually have like clam chowder, cacoila and corn," said Vieira. "It’s a lot of work, but hopefully it’s fun, too.”

Dartmouth’s 10-and-under American team will play Friday, July 31, at 6 p.m. versus Greater New Bedford, and the 10-and-under National team will play the same night at 8 p.m versus Swansea.

The Dartmouth 12-and-under American team will play Tiverton at 6 p.m. on Friday, and the National team will play Whaling City at 8 p.m.

In the 15-and-under division, the Dartmouth National team will play Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m. against Greater New Bedford, and the American team will play the same night at 8 p.m against North Park.