Have any Texas teams made it to the Little League World Series Championship game before?

SAN ANTONIO — Let’s get this out of the way: No, Boerne All-Stars would not be the first Texas team to play in the title game of the Little League World Series, should they win the U.S. Final on Saturday. 

But they would be joining an elite club of young baseball players from the Lone Star State, which has gone all the way to the championship just eight times before, and only three times since 1966. And, should Boerne continue its dominant play and notch two more wins this weekend, they would be the first non-Houston squad to come out victorious in the tourney. 

Houston teams have won the Little League World Series twice, in 1950 and 1966. Overall, Texas teams are 2-6 in championship game appearances. 

Read on to learn more about Texas’ past appearances in the tournament’s title game and each outcome. 

Texas’ first Little League World Series triumph may still be the state’s most impressive in the grand history of its tournament participation. 

In just the fourth tournament ever, Houston Little League went undefeated, outscoring its opponents 8-1 including a close 2-1 victory over Connecticut’s Bridgeport Little League. Not a bad way to close out the state’s first-ever appearance in the event. 

The very next year, Austin’s little league squad was riding high heading into the 1951 Little League World Series Championship, having pummeled California in the previous game, 9-0. 

But the miracle of two straight titles for Texas teams wasn’t to be: Austin was held to just three hits and didn’t cross home plate in a 3-0 loss to Stamford, Connecticut. 

Fort Worth looked formidable heading into the tournament finale against Pennsylvania’s Levittown club, having outscored Canada and Mexico 10-1 to reach the title game. 

But their bats went silent, unable to muster any hits en route to a 5-0 defeat. The wait for Texas’ second title would continue. 

The1961 little league squad from El Campo, a small community about 73 miles southwest of Houston, also came close to Little League World Series glory when it beat Indiana and Mexico to reach the championship. 

California’s pitching staff rose to the challenge and allowed no hits, though defensive miscues allowed Texas to capitalize on three errors. They lost in the end, 4-2, despite a hitless showing. 

This was the last year for nearly three decades that the Lone Star State would be represented in the Little League World Series Championship. Houston made sure the forthcoming wait would be worth it. 

The team punished opponents in the 1966 tournament, outscoring them 18-2 over three games. This was before the U.S. and international teams were split into two different brackets to determine their representatives in the title game, which is why Houston found itself battling New Jersey after downing California in the semifinal. 

Houston would win, 8-2, for Texas’ second title ever and first in 16 years. 

Spring put together a formidable tournament run in 1995, but ran into an international baseball juggernaut in Chinese Taipei, which has won the most titles in the history of the event (17). 

In front of 42,000 spectators, one of the largest in tourney history, Spring couldn’t contain their opponent’s offense, giving up 16 hits in a 17-3 loss. 

In the final year of the eight-team tourney format, it was Bellaire Little League that left its mark on the competition as the U.S. South Region representative. 

After going 2-1 in pool play, Bellaire demolished Iowa in the U.S. Final, 8-0, setting up a championship matchup with Venezuela. But the team ran out of gas in front of 42,000 spectators — tied for the fourth-biggest crowd in tournament history — losing 3-2 to Venezuela. 

Bellaire still made history in its 2000 run. Ross Haggard became the first player in the Little League World Series history to toss multiple complete-game shutouts in the same tourney. 

 Lufkin went 4-2 in the 2017 tournament, taking a dramatic route to the championship matchup as Texas returned to the title game for the first time in 17 years. 

The team won its first two games before losing to North Carolina, 2-1. Facing elimination, Lufkin’s bats exploded for a 14-4 win over Connecticut, setting them up for a rematch against North Carolina in the U.S. Final. Lufkin got its revenge, punching their ticket to the Little League World Series Final against the Tokyo-Kitasuna club from Japan. 

They scored the first two runs of the championship, but were outscored 12-0 the rest of the way as Japan won the 2017 tourney. Lufkin notched two runs, three hits and two errors in the matchup. 

The 2017 tournament still featured 16 total teams and not 20 as it does now. 

The Boerne All-Stars are now in the driving seat of history, and on the cusp of Texas’ the ninth Little League World Series title game appearance. To get there, they’ll first have to overcome a Florida team hungry for revenge after Boerne defeated them Monday, knocking them into the elimination round. 

Florida managed to secure wins in three straight days against New York, Hawai’i and Nevada, giving them confidence and another shot at glory Saturday afternoon when they meet Boerne on the diamond once again. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the winner will go on to face the winner of Chinese Taipei and Venezuela on Sunday.