The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. The Series was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania; while the postal address of the organization is in Williamsport, the Series itself is played at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium at the Little League headquarters complex in South Williamsport.
Howard J. Lamade Stadium is a baseball stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Each year, along with Little League Volunteer Stadium, it hosts the Little League World Series. The playing field is two-thirds the size of a professional baseball field, with 60-foot (18.3 m) basepaths, a 46-foot (14 m) mound, and after modification in 2006, outfield fences at 225 ft (68.6 m), forming one-fourth of a true circle. Much of the capacity of the stadium is bench seating, while large berms surrounding the stadium provide additional seating allowing over 40,000 spectators.
The 2005 Little League World Series took place between August 19 and August 28 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The West Oahu Little League of ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, defeated the defending champion Pabao Little League of Willemstad, Curaçao, in the championship game of the 59th Little League World Series. This was the second time that the Little League World Series championship game was won with a walk-off home run, which Michael Memea hit in the bottom of the 7th inning.
PONY Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania. Started in 1951, PONY organizes youth baseball and softball leagues and tournaments, as over 500,000 players annually play PONY in over 4,000 leagues throughout the United States and over 40 countries world-wide. The televised Pony League World Series held annually in August at Washington's Lew Hays Pony Field attracts teenage teams from around the world. Membership is open to children and young adults from age 4 to 23 and the leagues are organized in two-year age brackets with "and-under" programs. Hundreds of PONY players have gone on to Major League Baseball careers, including Hall of Fame inductees Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.
The 2001 Little League World Series took place between August 17 and August 26 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan, defeated Apopka National Little League of Apopka, Florida, in the championship game of the 55th Little League World Series. This tournament saw the expansion of pool play to 16 teams, eight from the United States, and eight from around the world. This was the first LLWS to use Little League Volunteer Stadium; it was built to accommodate games added to the pool stage and to host the tournament's consolation game for third place.
The 1990 Little League World Series took place between August 21 and August 26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The San Hua Little League of Tainan, Taiwan defeated the Shippensburg Little League of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in the championship game of the 44th Little League World Series. Excessive rain delays resulted in the championship game being rescheduled from August 25 to August 26, with highlights broadcast on ESPN on tape delay.
The 1986 Little League World Series took place between August 19 and August 23 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Tainan Park Little League of Tainan Park, Taiwan, defeated the International Little League of Tucson, Arizona, in the championship game of the 40th Little League World Series.
The 1985 Little League World Series took place between August 20 and August 24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The National Little League of Seoul, South Korea, defeated the Mexicali Little League of Mexicali, Mexico, in the championship game of the 39th Little League World Series.
The 1979 Little League World Series took place between August 21 and August 25 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Puzih Little League of Taipei, Taiwan, defeated the Campbell Little League of Campbell, California, in the championship game of the 33rd Little League World Series.
The 1947 Little League World Series took place from August 21 through August 23, when the first Little League Baseball championship tournament was played at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Maynard Midgets of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, defeated the Lock Haven All Stars of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, 16–7 to win the championship. The event was called the National Little League Tournament, as the "World Series" naming was not adopted until 1949.
The 1954 Little League World Series was held from August 24 to August 27 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Schenectady Little League of Schenectady, New York, defeated the Colton Little League of Colton, California, in the championship game of the eighth Little League World Series.
The Great Lakes Region is one of ten United States regions that currently sends teams to the Little League World Series, the largest youth baseball competition in the world. The region's participation in the LLWS dates back to 1957, when it was known as the Central Region. However, when the LLWS was expanded in 2001 from eight teams to 16 teams, the Central Region was split into the Great Lakes and Midwest Regions.
Qualification for the Little League World Series in Mexico, whereby teams based in Mexico compete to select a champion to participate in the Little League World Series (LLWS), has occurred since 2001. In 2001, when the LLWS expanded to 16 teams, the Mexico Region was created as one of eight international regions, resulting in Mexico's Little League champion receiving an automatic berth in the LLWS. Mexico previously competed as part of the Latin America Region, from 1958 to 2001, whereby the champion from Mexico had to compete against teams from other countries in order to secure a berth in the LLWS.
The 1965 Little League World Series took place from August 24 through August 28 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Windsor Locks Little League of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, defeated Stoney Creek Little League of Stoney Creek, Ontario, in the championship game of the 19th Little League World Series. This was the first, and to date only, appearance by a Canadian team in the championship game.
The 1963 Little League World Series took place between August 20 and August 24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Granada Hills National Little League of Granada Hills, California, defeated Stratford Original Little League of Stratford, Connecticut, in the championship game of the 17th Little League World Series.
The 1957 Little League World Series took place during August 21 through 23 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, defeated Northern La Mesa Little League of La Mesa, California, in the championship game of the 11th Little League World Series. Ángel Macías threw the first and, to date, only perfect game in an LLWS championship.
The 1958 Little League World Series took place on August 19 through 22 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, won its second consecutive Little League World Series by defeating the Jaycee Little League of Kankakee, Illinois, in the 12th Championship Game.
The Central Region was a region that competed in the Little League World Series between 1957 and 2000. It was inaugurated as the North Region in 1957, when the LLWS first gave out Series berths to regional winners. The region was renamed to Central in 1973, and in 2001 was split into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. The region produced one world champion, in 1959, when Hamtramck, Michigan, defeated Auburn, California, 12–0, in the championship game.
The 2011 Little League World Series took place in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, between August 18 and 28. Eight teams from the United States and eight from elsewhere in the world competed in the 65th edition of this tournament. Ocean View Little League of Huntington Beach, California, defeated Hamamatsu Minami Little League of Hamamatsu City, Japan, in the championship game. Nick Pratto hit an RBI single to clinch the title for Ocean View.
The 2021 Little League World Series was held from August 19 to August 29 at the Little League headquarters complex in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was limited to US-based teams only. The most recent prior edition of the tournament contested without international teams had been 1975. Taylor North Little League of Taylor, Michigan, defeated West Side Little League of Hamilton, Ohio, in the championship by a 5–2 score. It was the first championship for a team from Michigan since 1959.
Hamtramck National Little League
West Auburn Little League
