Little League World Series: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
<center><h3>Coming: ''' August | <center><h3>Coming: ''' August 2025''' </h3></center> | ||
[[File:Thum 15702cb71aff6a.jpg|thumb|Little League player, 2005]] | [[File:Thum 15702cb71aff6a.jpg|thumb|Little League player, 2005]] | ||
The '''Little League World Series''' (often abbreviated as ''LLWS'') is a youth baseball championship which is held every August in Williamsport, PA. Unlike the "World Series" in Major League Baseball, which is actually just the championship series for MLB, the Little League World Series is truly a world-wide series. The LLWS includes representatives from nearly every part of the globe, although rule changes implemented in the mid-1990s ensure that one US team always plays in the championship game. The series is administered by Little League, Inc. and is not affiliated with any other youth baseball organization. | The '''Little League World Series''' (often abbreviated as ''LLWS'') is a youth baseball championship which is held every August in Williamsport, PA. Unlike the "World Series" in Major League Baseball, which is actually just the championship series for MLB, the Little League World Series is truly a world-wide series. The LLWS includes representatives from nearly every part of the globe, although rule changes implemented in the mid-1990s ensure that one US team always plays in the championship game. The series is administered by Little League, Inc. and is not affiliated with any other youth baseball organization. |
Latest revision as of 01:04, 26 August 2024
Coming: August 2025
The Little League World Series (often abbreviated as LLWS) is a youth baseball championship which is held every August in Williamsport, PA. Unlike the "World Series" in Major League Baseball, which is actually just the championship series for MLB, the Little League World Series is truly a world-wide series. The LLWS includes representatives from nearly every part of the globe, although rule changes implemented in the mid-1990s ensure that one US team always plays in the championship game. The series is administered by Little League, Inc. and is not affiliated with any other youth baseball organization.
Regional LLWS championship games are televised on the ESPN and ESPN2 cable networks. Most games from the LLWS itself are also televised on these networks. The United States Championship game and the World Championship game are televised on ABC. These telecasts often include interviews with the players as well as bits of trivia about the boys who make up the teams.
The competition features boys (and occasionally girls) who have won regional championships to make their way to the series. Boys who are 11 and 12 years old are allowed to play in the series. This is one reason so many boylovers follow the series with a passion. Due to the way the boy's age is computed for the series, some 13-year-olds use to be allowed to play if they turned thirteen after May 1st. However due to recent rule changes beginning with the 2018 season, the date to determine a player’s Little League age will be August 31, meaning that 13-year-olds will no longer be allowed to play. [1] [2] This means that depending on their birth date, some boys will only be eligible to play Little League baseball for one season.
History
Carl Stotz, a resident of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, founded Little League Baseball in 1939. He began experimenting with his idea in the summer of 1938 when he gathered his nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron and their neighborhood friends. They tried different field dimensions over the course of the summer and played several informal games. The following summer Stotz felt that he was ready to establish what later became Little League Baseball. The first league in Williamsport had just three teams, each sponsored by a different business. The first teams, Jumbo Pretzel, Lycoming Dairy, and Lundy Lumber, were managed by Carl Stotz and two of his friends, George and Bert Bebble. The men, joined by their wives and another couple, formed the first-ever Little League Board of Directors. Stotz' dream of establishing a baseball league for boys to teach fair play and teamwork had come true. [3]
The first League game took place on June 6, 1939. Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy, 23-8. Lycoming Dairy came back to claim the league championship. They, the first-half-season champions, defeated Lundy Lumber, the second-half champs, in a best-of-three season-ending series. The following year a second league was formed in Williamsport, and from there Little League Baseball grew to become an international organization of nearly 200,000 teams in every U.S. state and over 80 countries around the world.[3]
The First Little League World Series
The 1947 Little League World Series [4] took place in August 1947 and 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.
In 1947 , the board of directors for the original Little League decided to organize a tournament for the 17 known Little League programs. [5] The fields on which the games were played are between the street and a levee built to protect the town from the West Branch Susquehanna River. That levee provided most of the seating for the inaugural series' attendees. [6] Although the Little League World Series has now moved to a stadium in South Williamsport, it's still possible to play baseball on the original field. [7]
The inaugural series was important in history in that it was integrated at a time when professional baseball was still integrating. [8] More than 2,500 spectators enjoyed the final game, which helped to increase the League's overall publicity. [5]
Little League World Series champions
Forfeits due to ineligible players
Trivia
Little League MuseumLocated on the Little League International Complex on Route 15 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States, the Museum opened in 1982. It was closed from September 1, 2012 until June 6, 2013 during which time it underwent a major renovation. The museum re-opening kicks off a 14-month celebration of Little League’s 75th anniversary, culminating with the Little League Baseball World Series in August 2014. [19] [20] The Museum contains artifacts and interactive media about Little League baseball through the years and also other items such as a uniform worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth. References
External Links |