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> Little League Online > Media > News Archive > 2004 > Jack Losch, Player on First Little League World Series Championship Team, Passes Away

Jack Losch, Player on First Little League World Series Championship Team, Passes Away

Played college and pro football, and was a jet fighter pilot

Jack Losch delivers remarks in 1996 at the announcement naming him as the honorary chairman of the Little League Baseball World Series 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (May 28, 2004) – Little League International is saddened by the passing early this morning of John “Jack” Losch, who was the center fielder on the first Little League Baseball World Series championship team, then went on to a life many could only dream about.

Jack Losch went two-for-four for Williamsport’s Maynard Midgets in a 16-7 victory against Lock Haven, Pa., in the first Little League Baseball World Series championship game on Aug. 23, 1947.

“Those are the kind of memories that stick with you forever,” said Mr. Losch in 1996, when he was named honorary chairman of the Little League Baseball World Series 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee, just after retiring and moving back to the Williamsport area. “Playing in the Little League World Series gave me the confidence in myself to know there was nothing I couldn’t do.”

Mr. Losch went on to become a multi-sport star at Williamsport High School, and he earned a football scholarship to the University of Miami. An All-America running back, he still holds the Hurricanes’ team record for the longest run from scrimmage, 90 yards (in a 1955 game against Bucknell University). His 39.3-yards-per-carry average in that game also stands as a record at Miami. He led the team in receiving yards (206) and points scored (31) that year.

A first-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1956, Mr. Losch was picked 16 rounds ahead of future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. Mr. Losch spent one year in the National Football League, then served in the U.S. Air Force for three years as a jet fighter pilot. He could not return to football because of an injury, so he went on to the world of business. He retired in 1996 after 37 years at General Motors, where he was Director of Fleet Services.

“Throughout his life, Jack Losch remained a great friend of Little League,” said Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball. “Nobody has had a life quite like Jack’s, and we will all miss him.”
Mr. Losch’s brother, Joe, has been a Little League staff member for more than three decades, and is now the vice president of operations and corporate secretary for Little League Baseball and Softball.

“Jack and Joe were as close as two brothers can be,” Mr. Keener said. “Joe has always talked about his brother with well-deserved pride. Our prayers and our deepest sympathy goes to the Losch family and all of Jack’s many friends.”

In the next few weeks, Little League International will be considering an appropriate way to memorialize the life and contributions of Jack Losch to the Little League program.

The 1947 Little League Baseball World Series champions, the Maynard Midgets of Williamsport, Pa., were the first Series champions in Little League's history. Jack Losch, who played center field for the team, is standing directly behind the trophy.