1955 Little League World Series

1955 Little League World Series

Tournament details
Dates	August 23–August 26
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Morrisville Little League Morrisville, Pennsylvania
Runners-up	Delaware Township Little League Delaware Township, New Jersey
←  1954 1956  →

The 1955 Little League World Series was held from August 23 to August 26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. ^[1] Morrisville Little League of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, defeated Delaware Township Little League of Delaware Township, New Jersey, in the championship game of the 9th Little League World Series.

This was the first time that the Little League World Series title was won with a walk-off home run, hit by Rich Cominski in the bottom of the 7th inning. ^[2] Attendees at the final game included former General of the Army George Marshall and Governor of Pennsylvania George M. Leader. ^[2]

An all-black team from Charleston, South Carolina, which had won its state and regional tournaments by forfeit when their all-white opponents refused to play against them, was ruled ineligible to play in the tournament but invited by Little League to attend the event as guests. ^[3]

Teams

States represented at the 1955 Little League World Series

Region 1	Winchester, Massachusetts
Region 2	Glens Falls, New York
Region 3	Morrisville, Pennsylvania
Region 4	Delaware Township, New Jersey †
Region 5	Auburn, Alabama
Region 6	Hamtramck, Michigan
Region 7	Alexandria, Louisiana
Region 8	San Diego, California

†Delaware Township was renamed Cherry Hill in November 1961

Championship bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	August 23
	Massachusetts	8
					August 25 (F/8)
	Michigan	5
					Massachusetts	0
	August 23
					Pennsylvania	3
	Pennsylvania	4
									August 26 (F/7)
	New York	3
									Pennsylvania	4
	August 24
									New Jersey	3
	New Jersey	4
					August 25
	Louisiana	2
					New Jersey	6
	August 24
					Alabama	4			Third place
	Alabama	4
									August 26 (F/7)
	California	1
									Massachusetts	0
									Alabama	1

1955 Little League World Series Champions
Morrisville Little League Morrisville, Pennsylvania

Notable players

• Billy Hunter of Delaware Township went on to play in the National Football League, and later served as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association; he was inducted to the Little League Hall of Excellence in 2000. ^[4]
• Dick Hart of Morrisville played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

References

1. "Eight Finalists Open Little League Series". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. UP. August 23, 1955. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2018– via newspapers.com.
2. Lundquist, Carl (August 27, 1955). "Morrisville Tops Del. Twp. For Little League Title, 4-3". The Philadelphia Inquirer . UP. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2018– via newspapers.com.
3. Lamb, Chris (August 16, 2022). "An all-Black Little League team made history without playing a game". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 2, 2023.
4. "Hall of Excellence". Little League Baseball . Retrieved August 25, 2018.

Further reading

• Horner, Mike (August 7, 1989). "Summers of '55 and '56: The times of our lives". Courier-Post . Camden, New Jersey. p. 5C. Retrieved August 25, 2018– via newspapers.com.
• Horner, Mike (August 7, 1989). "Little League memories still burn". Courier-Post . Camden, New Jersey. p. 6C. Retrieved August 25, 2018– via newspapers.com.

External links

• 1955 Tournament Bracket via Wayback Machine
• 1955 Line Scores via Wayback Machine