After the resounding success of the 1949 series it was decided to return to Omaha Municipal Stadium for the 1950 American Legion World Series. Omaha responded with 45,358 fans during the four day tournament with 12,368 for the opening game. There were more than 16,000 American Legion teams in 1950.
Once again four teams progressed to Omaha from the 12 regional/sectional champions. Captain Bill Irwin Post 337 of Oakland California romped through the finals as they did not lose a game. This was their second straight national championship. Overall they were 29-1 and ended with a nine game winning streak in tournament play.
Second place in 1950 was Fred W. Stockham Post 245 from St. Louis Missouri. St. Louis lost their first round game to Kearney Post 6, Bristol R.I. then fought back through the losers bracket to face Oakland in the finals. Rounding out the field was Post 1 Richmond Virginia.
First Round: Bristol 8 St. Louis 1, Oakland 8 Richmond 2. In the losers bracket, St. Louis eliminated Richmond 11-9. Oakland defeated Bristol 22-12 to stay undefeated. St. Louis then eliminated Bristol 14-6 and Oakland beat St. Louis to win the championship 11-0.
J. W. Porter of Oakland repeated as batting championship with a .488 average during the tournament. He was also named the player of the year. Porter signed with the White Sox and received a $50,000 bonus. He played for Waterloo in 1951. He made his major league debut in 1952 with the St. Louis Browns. He played for seven different major league teams, 11 different minor league teams and was a manager in the Expos organization in the late 60's.
The Oakland team was made up of students from McClymonds High School. Coach George Powells won many baseball and basketball championships during his tenure at the school. The 1950 team had a young player named Frank Robinson. Their 1953 team had Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Curt Flood with Bill Russell leading their basketball team.
Other Regional Champions:
Post 19 Somerville Mass.
Bunker Hill Post 31, Washington DC
Post 15 Sumter South Carolina
Cedar Grove Post 6, Shreveport La.
Fred W. Beaudry Post 126, Detroit Michigan
North End Post 474 St. Paul Minnesota
Leyden-Chiles-Wickersham Post 1, Denver Colorado
Logan Wheeler Post 36, Yakima Washington