1980 Little League World Series

The 1980 Little League World Series was the 34th Little League World Series. It included teams from Trail, BC, Taipei County, Willemstad (the first Curacao entry), Madrid, Tampa, FL, Des Moines, IA, Pawtucket, RI and Kirkland, WA (the first Washington-based team). Among the attendees was Vice Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, who had been a Little League volunteer in the 1950s.

The tournament saw some big performances. Todd Coleman of Kirkland no-hit Des Moines on August 27. Tampa hit .449, setting a new team record, thanks to two 20-hit games, against Pawtucket and Kirkland. On August 28, Taiwan set records for doubles (8), homers (7), RBI (21) and total bases (49) in annihilating Canada. Sheng-Den Chen and Hsuen-Huei Lien each set individual records with four extra-base hits in that game. Taiwan had a team OPS of 2927, third-best in Series history to that point.

The powerhouse Tampa and Taipei entries met in the finals, with Taiwan squeaking out a 4-3 win. Shuh-Shin Li fanned 10 in six innings to outduel K. Walker. The teams boasted several future pro stars. Future Olympic Silver Medalist Kuang-Shih Wang went 0 for 3 as Taiwan's leadoff-hitting shortstop in the finale. For Tampa, the big names were SS Ty Griffin (1 for 2, HR, also a future Olympian) and two major league-bound players: C Gary Sheffield (1 for 3, R, 2 PB) and RF Derek Bell (0 for 3, RBI).

Source: 2012 LLWS Media Guide

Participants

United States Teams				International Teams
Region	City	League		Region	City	League
Central	Des Moines, IA	Grandview National Little League		Canada	Trail, BC	Trail Little League
East	Pawtucket, RI	Darlington American Little League		Europe	Madrid	Torrejon AFB Little League
South	Tampa, FL	Belmont Heights Little League		Far East	Taipei County	Long-Kuong Little League
West	Kirkland, WA	National Little League		Latin America	Willemstad	Pabao Little League

Results

Game Results

• Taipei County 6, Willemstad 0
• Tampa, FL 20, Pawtucket, RI 3
• Kirkland, WA 15, Des Moines, IA 0
• Trail, BC 9, Madrid 8
• Taipei County 23, Trail, BC 0
• Tampa, FL 16, Kirkland, WA 0
• Kirkland, WA 2, Trail, BC 1 (Consolation game)
• Taipei County 4, Tampa, FL 3 (Championship game)

• Willemstad 7, Pawtucket, RI 0
• Des Moines, IA 8, Madrid 1
• Pawtucket, RI 6, Madrid 0 (7th Place)
• Des Moines, IA 2, Willemstad 0 (5th Place)

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Taipei County	6
		Willemstad	0
							Taipei County	23
							Trail, BC	0
		Trail, BC	9
		Madrid	8
												Taipei County	4
												Tampa, FL	3
		Tampa, FL	20
		Pawtucket, RI	3
							Tampa, FL	16
							Kirkland, WA	0
		Kirkland, WA	15
		Des Moines, IA	0