A Quick History on the Little League World Series

As the Little League World Series (LLWS) is currently being played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the long standing home of this baseball classic, the tournament for kids 10 to 12 years old began in 1947. Little did organizers know that 78 years later this version of a World Series would become a worldwide sensation.

The LLWS had its first taste of international teams in 1957 when Monterrey, Mexico played and won the tournament. The team defended their title a year later. It would be nine years later before another team outside the United States was crowned champions and that team came out of West Tokyo, Japan as they defeated a team from Chicago Illinois by a final score of 4-1.

With West Tokyo’s title, a run on championships began from Asian teams as in 1968, 1969, and from 1971 to 1974 teams from Wakayama, Osaka, Japan, Taichung, Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, Tainan, Taiwan, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan defeated teams from the United States. The title games for 1971, 1973, and 1974 saw the winning Taiwanese teams scoring 12 runs in each championship game.

Those 12 runs are a far cry from the highest total by one team in LLWS history. In the very first World Series title game, host Williamsport defeated Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 16-7. In 1987, Hualien, Taiwan wiped out a team from Irvine, California 21-1. Taiwan was dominant again in 1995 when they crushed Spring, Texas 17-3. Last year, Lake Mary got the best of Taoyuan, Taiwan going extra innings for a 2-1 victory.

Overall, the United States is still far ahead in titles with 40 following by Taiwan with 17 and then Japan with 11. By states, California owns eight titles. Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Hawaii have all won four. Among international teams, Mexico and South Korea have each won three. Venezuela has won twice. That leaves just Curacao who won in 2004.

If you are curious if any of the former participants in the LLWS made it all the way to the Major Leagues, 72 former little leaguers have either played for an MLB team or are still active. Some of the more recognizable and notable players are:

• Wilson Alvarez
• Jim Barbieri (who was the first to play in both the LLWS and the MLB World Series)
• Jason Bay (2004 MLB Rookie of the Year for the National League)
• Derek Bell (member of t 1992 MLB World Series champions)
• Cody Bellinger (currently active)
• Todd Frazier (2015 MLB Home Run Derby champ)
• Lloyd McClendon (former Pirates manager)
• Boog Powell
• Gary Sheffield
• Jason Varitek

Baseball players are not the only athletes to participate in the LLWS. Former National Football League quarterback Matt Cassel played for Northridge, California in the 1994 tournament as his team finished second. Another quarterback Turk Schonert also played not just in the Little League World Series but in the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet another signal caller and a rather good one was Brian Sipe who played for the Cleveland Browns and also El Cajon out of California in 1961. Sipe was also the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1980.

Hockey star Pierre Turgeon was a baseball player from Rouyn-Noranda from Quebec in the 1982 LLWS. Females have not been excluded in this summer classic. Mo’ne Davis became the first girl to register a victory from the pitching mound in 2014 as a member of Taney Little League in 2014. Taney played out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Davis was not alone as Krissy Wendell a former United States national hockey team player also participant in 1994 for Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Girls have been participating since the first appearance in 1984 by Brussels, Belgium’s Victoria Roche took part. 20 more appearances since then including Mo’ne Davis’s have been recorded.

While he didn’t have a career in sports, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was a little league baseball player as a youth and played for the 1991 Dunedin, Florida team. Then there is the dark side of the LLWS which took place in 2001 when a team from the Bronx, New York sent Danny Almonte into the competition knowing he was over the required age of 10-12. His coaches were busted for falsifying his birth certificate and thus his team disqualified.

As we look back 75 years ago to 1950, that year the Houston Little League from Texas won the title defeating Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was only the fourth LLWS in history and the game was close with a final score of 2-1. Moving ahead 25 years to 1975, Lakewood, New Jersey became champions with a victory over Tampa, Florida. 1975 represented a ban on international teams from which appeared to be an embarrassment by the United States because in three previous years in the 1970s teams from Taiwan had outscored opponents 120-2 over nine games. The ban was lifted in 1976 after a public outroar.

25 years ago in 2000, as a new century was upon us, the Sierra Maestra Little League out of Maracaibo, Venezuela took the LLWS championship back home overseas after defeating Bellaire Little League from Texas. Interesting facts about the Little League World Series are:

• The first series in 1947 was played at Original Field in Memorial Park, Williamsport.
• The series was founded by Carl Stotz, an oil company clerk from Williamsport in 1939.
• In 1959 games were moved to Howard J. Lamade Stadium. After an eight team format was ditched for a new 20 team invitation, Volunteer Stadium became a second venue.
• Teams have played from 29 different countries and 44 separate states.
• Current estimates have 16,000 games played in 45 days to gain entry to the final rounds in Williamsport which is now limited to 16 teams.