The City of Bayonne will soon hold a parade to honor the Little League baseball team, the Bayonne Bees, that just returned home after a historic run at the 2026 Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, according to 1st Ward Councilman Gene Perry.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
Perry made the announcement at the tail end of yesterday’s special council meeting where the governing body established the Division of Code Enforcement, as HCV first reported.
“Over the last two-and-a-half months, our Bayonne baseball team has really made some news around the country and the town, and has brought the city together. The council would like to congratulate the coaches, the volunteers, and the players, most importantly, on their success over the last two months going to Williamsport, Pennsylvania,” Perry said.
“And we’re looking forward to celebrating some more in the next couple of weeks. There are some things in the works that will come out soon. But again, congratulations to the Bayonne Little League.”
Council President Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez then told Perry he could spill the beans, to which he announced there would be a parade in the Little League baseball team’s honor in the coming days.
“I was just told I could say there will be a parade. We’re just waiting to find out what day we’d be doing it on where the boys can all make it and they’ll have a good showing for everyone in town,” Perry stated.
Bayonne’s run in the 2026 Little League World Series ended on Tuesday, August 25th, after a 5-2 make-or-break loss to the West Side Little League team from Great Lakes Region out of Hamilton, Ohio.
Prior to that, Bayonne came up short with a 6-0 loss to Davenport, Iowa, meaning they needed to win on the 25th to stay in the tournament but fell short, however, the team’s two back-to-back wins to start the series had the Peninsula City making national news.
This was the first time in the Bayonne Little League’s 75-year history that they made it to the Little League World Series, let alone winning regional and state titles.
In becoming state champions and regional champions representing the Metro Region, Bayonne became the first Hudson County team to make it to Williamsport – where the Little League World Series is held annually – since 1966.
In addition, Bayonne was the first team from New Jersey to make it to the Little League World Series since 2021, and on top of that, the first team from the Garden State to begin the tournament with back-to-back victories since 2017.
The Bayonne Little League also placed sixth in the nation in the tournament, and ranked 12th in the world.
Their legendary run prompted massive local fanfare, including busloads of residents arriving at games, with many donning “Bayonne Versus Everybody” t-shirts to mark the occasion.
When the team returning to Bayonne yesterday, the 12-year-olds and their coaches were given a celebrity welcome by crowds of fans in the Peninsula City, with more planned in the coming weeks.
