1947 - Hammonton, NJ, boasts having the first Little League outside of Pennsylvania.  The first Little League World Series (known then as the National Little League Tournament) is won by the Maynard Midgets of Williamsport.

 

1948 - Little League grows to ninety-four leagues.

 

1949 - Little League expands to 307 leagues in the U.S.  A feature about Little League in the Saturday Evening Post spreads the Little League story to more than 14 million people.  Newsreels highlighting the 1948 National Tournament are seen by millions more, and Carl Stotz is deluged by requests for information on starting a program in hundreds of communities. Little League moves to protect its name by incorporating, in the state of New York.

 

1950 - The first leagues outside the U.S. are formed at each end of the Panama Canal.

 

1953 - The Little League World Series is televised for the first time. Howard Cosell handles the play-by-play for ABC radio.

 

1955 - Nine-year-old George W. Bush plays his first of four years at Central Little League of Midland, Texas, where he is a catcher on the Cubs. He later becomes the first Little League graduate to be elected President of the United States.

 

1957 - Monterrey, Mexico, becomes the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series as Angel Macias pitches the first perfect game in a championship final.

 

1959 - The modern protective helmet is developed by Dr. Creighton J. Hale, then Director of Research for Little League Baseball.

 

1961 - Senior League Baseball is created for players thirteen to fifteen years old.

 

1962 - National Little League Week is proclaimed by President John F. Kennedy.

 

1963 - ABC and its Wide World of Sports program televises the Little League World Series championship game for the first time.

 

1964 - Little League Baseball is granted a Charter of Federal Incorporation by the U.S. Congress.

 

1966 - Little League Baseball's first regional headquarters, the Southern Region Headquarters, opens in St. Petersburg, FL.

 

1968 - Big League Baseball for players sixteen to eighteen years old is started.

 

1971 - The aluminum bat, developed in cooperation with Little League, is first used.

 

1972 - Title IX, giving women and girls greater opportunities at higher levels of athletics, is signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon.

 

1974 - Little League rules are revised to allow participation by girls.  Little League Softball and Senior League Softball programs are created.

 

1979 - Junior League Baseball is created for thirteen-year-olds.

 

1980 - Big League Softball is started for players sixteen to eighteen years old.

 

1983 - East Marietta (GA) National Little League wins the World Series with future Major Leaguer Marc Pisciotta on the mound.

 

1985 - For the first time, ABC-TV carries the Little League World Series championship game live on Wide World of Sports.  For the first time in baseball history, ABC mounts a micro-miniature camera on the mask of the home plate umpire, Frank Rizzo.

 

1989 - Little League Baseball celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.

 

1990 - Little League Baseball launches the first full season of the Challenger Division for mentally and physically disabled children.

 

1996 - Little League celebrates the fiftieth World Series.  The Little League Education Program for Managers and Coaches is launched.

 

1997 - Little League and Major League Baseball enter an agreement for the first time, co-producing a magazine that is mailed free of charge directly to nearly 2 million Little Leaguers.

 

1998 - Little League expands to include ninety-five countries.  It is announced that the Little League World Series will expand from eight teams to 16 in 2001, and a second stadium will be built.

 

2001 - A special field is constructed by Little League Baseball International personnel as President Bush invites Little League Tee Ball teams to the White House for three historic baseball games on the South Lawn. A fourth game, scheduled for Sept. 16, is postponed because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

 

2002 - Little League’s "Honoring Our Hometown Heroes” program is launched paying homage to law enforcement personnel, firefighters, military personnel and local heroes in thousands of communities worldwide.

 

2003 - In the latest phase of the Little League Child Protection Program, local Little Leagues are now required to conduct background checks on certain volunteers.

 

2004 - The inaugural Little League Urban Initiative Jamboree is held at Little League International, as eight teams from several states spend a four-day weekend in Williamsport.

 

2006 - The inaugural Little League World Challenger Jamboree is held in Norfolk, Va.  A new league age determination date goes into effect.  Fences at the two World Series stadiums are moved from 205 feet to 225 feet.

 

2007 - Following a vote by the Little League International Board of Directors during the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series, the pitch count became a part of Little League Baseball for the 2007 regular season and tournament play.

 

2008 - Little League International creates a free on-line coaching resource that Little League managers and coaches can turn to for reference, education, or to stay current with the latest drills and coaching techniques.

 

2009 - Warner Robins, Ga., was selected as site of Little League’s Southeastern Region Headquarters, which was relocated from St. Petersburg, Fla.

 

2010 - Little League started a Pilot Program called 50/70 Baseball.

 

2010 - Urban Initiative Jamborees were moved from Willliamsport to 4 states:  Atlanta, Newark, N.J., Houston and Chicago.

 

2010 - The Umpire Resource Center was developed.

 

2013 - The 50/70 Baseball pilot program starts its first year as the new Little League Intermediate division for 11- 13 year olds.