1947 Little League World Series Explained

Dates:	August 21–August 23
Num Teams:	12
Champion Other:	Maynard League
Second Other:	Lock Haven

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 .

In 1947, the board of directors for the original Little League decided to organize a tournament for the 17 known Little League programs.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

The inaugural series was important in history in that it was integrated at a time when professional baseball was still integrating.^[4] More than 2,500 spectators enjoyed the final game, which helped to increase the League's overall publicity.^[1]

Teams

Williamsport Teams

• Original League
• Sunday School League
• Brandon League
• Maynard League

• Lincoln League – Newberry, PA
• Montoursville, PA
• Montgomery, PA
• Jersey Shore, PA
• Milton, PA
• Perry County, PA
• Hammonton, NJ
• Lock Haven, PA

Results

Rain on August 21 caused two first round games to be played on August 22.
Source:^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Notable players

• Jack Losch of the Maynard League championship team went on to play college football with the Miami Hurricanes, and was a first-round selection in the 1956 NFL draft. That year, with the Green Bay Packers, he became the first LLWS participant to play a professional sport. In 2004, the Team Sportsmanship Award at the LLWS was named in his honor.^[10]

External links

• 1947 Tournament Bracket via Wayback Machine
• 1947 Line Scores via Wayback Machine

Notes and References

1. Web site: Little League World Series History . August 28, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100817102629/http://www.littleleague.org/learn/about/worldserieshistory.htm . August 17, 2010 . dead .
2. News: Dave . Caldwell . Williamsport, Pa.: Home of True Small Ball . July 20, 2007 . The New York Times . February 2, 2008 .
3. News: Dave . Lewerenz . Small Museum Preserves Historic Birthplace of Little League . August 10, 2003 . Pittsburgh Post Gazette . February 2, 2008 .
4. News: Milan . Simonich . Stroll in Free to the 60th Summer Baseball Classic . August 13, 2006 . Pittsburgh Post Gazette . February 2, 2008 .
5. Web site: 1947 Little League World Series . August 24, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130120125535/http://www.littleleague.org/series/history/year/1947.htm . January 20, 2013 . dead . mdy-all .
6. News: Stars Set For Tournament . The Express . . 7 . August 22, 1947 . August 20, 2018 . newspapers.com.
7. News: Lock Haven In Little League Tourney Semi-Finals . The Express . . 7 . August 23, 1947 . August 20, 2018 . newspapers.com.
8. News: Tourney Slate . The Express . . 7 . August 23, 1947 . August 20, 2018 . newspapers.com.
9. News: Little Leaguers Do Well Finishing In Runner-Up Spot . The Express . . 9 . August 25, 1947 . August 20, 2018 . newspapers.com.
10. Web site: Little League World Series Team Sportsmanship Award to be Named for Jack Losch . https://web.archive.org/web/20120118105028/http://www.littleleague.org/media/newsarchive/05_2004/04loschaward.htm . 2012-01-18 . littleleague.org . June 22, 2010.