The first Little League Baseball World Series was played in 1947 at Original Field at Memorial Park, Williamsport.
The Little League program itself was founded by Carl E. Stotz, an oil company clerk, in 1939 in Williamsport.
In the first Little League Baseball World Series, all the teams except one were from Pennsylvania. At the time, Little League only existed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A Williamsport-area team (Maynard Midgets) won the first Series.
Within a few years, word spread about Carl Stotz’s program, and Little League was being played in all 48 states. The first Little Leagues outside the 48 states were in Panama, Canada, and Hawaii, in 1950.
The Little League Baseball World Series moved to it’s current location at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in 1959. Volunteer Stadium opened in 2001, to accommodate expansion from eight teams to 16.
In the 74-year history of the Little League Baseball World Series, International teams have won 37 Championships, while teams from the United States have won 37. The state with the most championships is California with seven. Chinese Taipei is the country with the most titles with 17.
There have been 28 different countries to send local Little Leagues programs to compete in the Little League Baseball World Series, and teams from 42 states. Countries that have won the Little League Baseball World Series are Curaçao, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the United States.
Today, Little League Baseball and Softball consists of approximately two million boys and girls in all 50 U.S. states and more than 80 other countries on six continents.
In the Little League Baseball division of the International Tournament, approximately 16,000 games are played in dozens of countries in 45 days, culminating in the 16-team Little League Baseball World Series each August. There are more games played in this 45-day tournament than in SIX FULL SEASONS of Major League Baseball. This is in just one of the seven divisions of Little League that culminate in a Little League World Series Tournament.
Each of the teams at the LLBWS is assigned two or three “Team Hosts,” who volunteer their time to stay with the team, usually well into the night, to ensure their needs are met, and to make sure, above all, they have fun.
Little League will celebrate the 75th Little League Baseball World Series in 2022, which will include expanding to 20 teams.