The 1955 Little League World Series was held from August 23 to August 26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.[1] Morrisville Little League of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, defeated Delaware Township Little League of Delaware Township, New Jersey, in the championship game of the 9th Little League World Series.
This was the first time that the Little League World Series title was won with a walk-off home run, hit by Rich Cominski in the bottom of the 7th inning.[2] Attendees at the final game included former General of the Army George Marshall and Governor of Pennsylvania George M. Leader.[2]
An all-black team from Charleston, South Carolina, which had won its state and regional tournaments by forfeit when their all-white opponents refused to play against them, was ruled ineligible to play in the tournament but invited by Little League to attend the event as guests.[3]
Teams
 Auburn, Alabama
|
 San Diego, California
|
 Alexandria, Louisiana
|
 Winchester, Massachusetts
|
 Hamtramck, Michigan
|
 Delaware Township, New Jersey†
|
 Glens Falls, New York
|
 Morrisville, Pennsylvania
|
†Delaware Township was renamed Cherry Hill in November 1961
Championship bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| August 23 | ||||||||||
| Massachusetts | 8 | |||||||||
| August 25 (F/8) | ||||||||||
| Michigan | 5 | |||||||||
| Massachusetts | 0 | |||||||||
| August 23 | ||||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 3 | |||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 4 | |||||||||
| August 26 (F/7) | ||||||||||
| New York | 3 | |||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 4 | |||||||||
| August 24 | ||||||||||
| New Jersey | 3 | |||||||||
| New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||
| August 25 | ||||||||||
| Louisiana | 2 | |||||||||
| New Jersey | 6 | |||||||||
| August 24 | ||||||||||
| Alabama | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
| Alabama | 4 | |||||||||
| August 26 (F/7) | ||||||||||
| California | 1 | |||||||||
| Massachusetts | 0 | |||||||||
| Alabama | 1 | |||||||||
| 1955 Little League World Series Champions |
|---|
 Morrisville Little League Morrisville, Pennsylvania |
Notable players
- Billy Hunter of Delaware Township went on to play in the National Football League, and later served as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association; he was inducted to the Little League Hall of Excellence in 2000.[4]
- Dick Hart of Morrisville played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.
References
- ^ "Eight Finalists Open Little League Series". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. UP. August 23, 1955. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Lundquist, Carl (August 27, 1955). "Morrisville Tops Del. Twp. For Little League Title, 4-3". The Philadelphia Inquirer. UP. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Lamb, Chris (August 16, 2022). "An all-Black Little League team made history without playing a game". Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ "Hall of Excellence". Little League Baseball. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
Further reading
- Horner, Mike (August 7, 1989). "Summers of '55 and '56: The times of our lives". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. p. 5C. Retrieved August 25, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- Horner, Mike (August 7, 1989). "Little League memories still burn". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. p. 6C. Retrieved August 25, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
External links
- 1955 Tournament Bracket via Wayback Machine
- 1955 Line Scores via Wayback Machine