Since the inception of the Little League World Series in 1947, 78 Little League World Series championship games have been played. The United States leads the number of championship games won with 40, followed by Taiwan with 18, Japan with 11, Mexico and South Korea with 3 each, and Curaçao and Venezuela with 2 each.
Little League World Series championship games YearWinnerScoreRunner-upWilliamsport, Pennsylvania16–7Lock Haven, PennsylvaniaLock Haven, Pennsylvania6–5St. Petersburg, FloridaHammonton, New Jersey5–0Pensacola, FloridaHouston, Texas2–1Bridgeport, ConnecticutStamford, Connecticut3–0Austin, TexasNorwalk, Connecticut4–3Monongahela, PennsylvaniaBirmingham, Alabama1–0Schenectady, New YorkSchenectady, New York7–5Colton, CaliforniaMorrisville, Pennsylvania4–3Delaware Township, New JerseyRoswell, New Mexico3–1Delaware Township, New JerseyMonterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico4–0La Mesa, CaliforniaMonterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico10–1Kankakee, IllinoisHamtramck, Michigan12–0Auburn, CaliforniaLevittown, Pennsylvania5–0Fort Worth, TexasEl Cajon, California4–2El Campo, TexasSan Jose, California3–0Kankakee, IllinoisGranada Hills, California2–1Stratford, ConnecticutStaten Island, New York4–0Monterrey, Nuevo León, MexicoWindsor Locks, Connecticut3–1Stoney Creek, Ontario, CanadaHouston, Texas8–2West New York, New JerseyWest Tokyo, Japan4–1Chicago, IllinoisWakayama, Osaka, Japan1–0Richmond, VirginiaTaichung, Taiwan5–0Santa Clara, CaliforniaWayne, New Jersey2–0Campbell, CaliforniaTainan, Taiwan12–3 (F/9)Gary, IndianaTaipei, Taiwan6–0Hammond, IndianaTainan, Taiwan12–0Tucson, ArizonaKaohsiung, Taiwan12–1Red Bluff, California*Lakewood, New Jersey4–3Tampa, FloridaChōfu, Tokyo, Japan10–3Campbell, CaliforniaKaohsiung, Taiwan7–2El Cajon, CaliforniaPingtung, Taiwan11–1Danville, CaliforniaTaipei, Taiwan2–1 (F/8)Campbell, CaliforniaHualien, Taiwan4–3Tampa, FloridaTaichung, Taiwan4–2Tampa, FloridaKirkland, Washington6–0Chiayi, TaiwanMarietta, Georgia3–1Barahona, Dominican RepublicSeoul, South Korea6–2Altamonte Springs, FloridaSeoul, South Korea7–1/Mexicali, BC/Calexico, CATainan, Taiwan12–0Tucson, ArizonaHualien, Taiwan21–1Irvine, CaliforniaTaichung, Taiwan10–0Pearl City, HawaiiTrumbull, Connecticut5–2Kaohsiung, TaiwanTainan, Taiwan9–0Shippensburg, PennsylvaniaTaichung, Taiwan11–0Danville, California‡Long Beach, California6–0 (fft) ‡Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicLong Beach, California3–2David, Chiriquí, PanamaMaracaibo, Venezuela4–3Northridge, CaliforniaTainan, Taiwan17–3 (F/5)Spring, TexasKaohsiung, Taiwan13–3 (F/5)Cranston, Rhode IslandGuadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico5–4South Mission Viejo, CaliforniaToms River, New Jersey12–9Kashima, JapanHirakata, Osaka, Japan5–0Phenix City, AlabamaMaracaibo, Venezuela3–2Bellaire, TexasTokyo Kitasuna, Tokyo, Japan2–1Apopka, FloridaLouisville, Kentucky1–0Sendai, Miyagi, JapanMusashi-Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan10–1East Boynton Beach, FloridaWillemstad, Curaçao5–2Thousand Oaks, CaliforniaʻEwa Beach, Hawaii7–6 (F/7)Willemstad, CuraçaoColumbus, Georgia2–1Kawaguchi City, JapanWarner Robins, Georgia3–2 (F/8)Tokyo, JapanWaipahu, Hawaii12–3Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MexicoChula Vista, California6–3Taoyuan County, TaiwanEdogawa Minami, Tokyo, Japan4–1Waipahu, HawaiiHuntington Beach, California2–1Hamamatsu City, JapanTokyo-Kitasuna, Tokyo, Japan12–2 (F/5)Goodlettsville, TennesseeMusashi-Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan6–4Chula Vista, CaliforniaSeoul, South Korea6–0 (fft.)‡Las Vegas, NevadaTokyo-Kitasuna, Tokyo, Japan18–11Lewisberry, PennsylvaniaMaine-Endwell, New York2–1Seoul, South KoreaTokyo-Kitasuna, Tokyo, Japan12–2 (F/5)Lufkin, TexasHonolulu, Hawaii3–0Seoul, South KoreaRiver Ridge, Louisiana8–0Willemstad, Curaçao Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicTaylor, Michigan5–2Hamilton, OhioHonolulu, Hawaii13–3 (F/4) Willemstad, Curaçao2023El Segundo, California6–5Willemstad, Curaçao2024Lake Mary, Florida2–1 (F/8)Taoyuan, Taiwan2025Taipei, Taiwan7–0Las Vegas, Nevada2026Willemstad, Curaçao11–2Henderson, Nevada
‡ Forfeits due to ineligible players: 1992: Zamboanga City, Philippines, was disqualified and stripped of its 1992 world championship for overage players. Zamboanga City won 15–4 over Long Beach. Chicago was disqualified and stripped of the U.S. championship in 2014 for geographical restrictions; the U.S. championship was reallocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, which lost the U.S. championship match to Chicago. Seoul, South Korea originally won 8–4 over Chicago.
Championship tally
Championships won by country/state Rank Team Titles Years – 40 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 1 Taiwan 18 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Japan 11 , , , , , , , , , , 3 8 , , , ‡, , , , 4 4 , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 Mexico 3 , , Georgia , , South Korea , , , , 12 2 , Venezuela , , , 16 1 Washington
Championship notes In November , "whispers about overage Asian participants grew to shouts" when over a three-year stretch Taiwan outscored U.S. teams, 120–2, in a span of nine Little League World Series games. Then LLWS chairman Peter McGovern reluctantly agreed to a blanket ban of all international teams. After an uproar of criticism and an investigation that could produce no evidence of rules violations, the ban was rescinded for the event. In , the tournament was split into two brackets; one for International teams, and one for teams representing the United States. As a result, a team representing the United States is assured of being in the finals each year. In , Mexicali, Mexico, represented the West Region of the United States in the Little League World Series. Because of its proximity to the El Centro/Calexico area in Southern California, Mexicali competed in and represented California's District 22 in the Southern California division from 1957 to 1985, representing the bordering city of Calexico, California.See: Mexico in the Little League World Series. In , Long Beach was declared a 6–0 winner after the international tournament committee determined that Zamboanga City had used ineligible players that were either not from within its city limits, over age, or both. The championship game was originally won by Zamboanga City, 15–4. From 1997 to 2002, no teams from Taiwan participated in the tournament. In 1997, the Taiwan Baseball Association decided its leagues would no longer charter with Little League. From the introduction of Far East teams in 1967 until after 1996, Taiwan had won 17 of a possible 30 championships and had been runner-up twice.”Taiwan, once dominant, to return to Little League”. Associated Press Newswires, 25 April 2003 Due to complicated relations with the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China—commonly known as Taiwan—is recognized by the name Chinese Taipei by a majority of international organizations, including Little League Baseball. LLWS records and news accounts may use Republic of China, Taiwan, or Chinese Taipei to refer to the same entity. In , Danny Almonte, a pitcher from the Bronx, New York, team representing the Mid-Atlantic Region, was discovered to not be eligible because he was two years over the maximum age limit. Because of this, the Mid-Atlantic team was retroactively assessed a forfeit for each game they won in the tournament. The team's statistics, including a perfect game thrown by Almonte, were scrubbed from the record. In , a team from Taiwan reached the championship match for the first time since 1996, but lost to a team from Chula Vista, California. In , Chicago defeated Las Vegas for the U.S. championship before losing to Seoul, South Korea, in the LLWS championship. On February 11, 2015, Chicago was stripped of its U.S. title for fielding ineligible players; it was retroactively awarded to Las Vegas. In , River Ridge became the first team since the expansion to 16 teams in 2001, and the second team in tournament history, to win the LLWS after losing their first game of tournament play (the first such team was Maracaibo, Venezuela, winners of the tournament).
References
External links
Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum The Little League Baseball International Tournament (comprehensive information on district, sectional, state/provincial/country, and regional tournaments). Unpage Publications