Major League Baseball

Little League World Series scandals at a glance

Published Feb. 11, 2015 5:24 p.m. ET

foxsports

Some of the scandals and controversies in the history of the Little League World Series. In the event's 68-year history, three teams have had wins vacated by LLWS:

• 1975: Following Taiwan's fourth consecutive championship in 1974, Little League bars foreign teams from reaching the series while it works to strengthen rules against year-round practices and out-of-district players.

• 1976: International teams again allowed into the World Series. A team from Tokyo wins the tournament.

• 1992: Zamboanga City Little League, Philippines, wins the World Series. Later, league organizers admit they assembled a national all-star team, including eight players from outside the Zamboanga City league's boundaries. The team is forced to forfeit its championship, with the title reverting to Long Beach (Calif.) Little League.

• 1997: Little League announces it would strictly enforce residency rules, Taiwan withdraws from tournament.

• 2001: Rolando Paulino Little League, Bronx, New York, is disqualified. Birth records in the Dominican Republic show that pitcher Danny Almonte is 14, too old to play in the Little League division. Further investigation also shows that Almonte did not live within the league's boundaries and that he did not participate in the required number of regular-season games before the international tournament. The league is forced to forfeit its third-place finish and all records, including a perfect game thrown by Almonte, are erased.

• 2002: Little League officials investigate charges that the Harlem Little League team, which won the Mid-Atlantic Regional and advanced to the Little League World Series, illegally used players who live outside the league's boundaries. Harlem league officials produce documents confirming their residency.

• 2015: Little League International strips Jackie Robinson West of its U.S. title after determining it had falsified boundaries to field ineligible players.