The Western Region tournament series structure has changed several times since the first region tournament was held in 1957. Key events in the evolution of this structure include the following:

YEAR	MILESTONE
1957	The Western Region tournament is inaugurated as a four-team, single-elimination tournament. Qualifiers for the tournament include the California state champion, as well as three divisional tournament winners. The region encompasses both the Western U.S. and provinces in Western Canada. The region tournament is hosted by a variety of cities throughout the West Coast until the early 1970s.
1959	The tournament remains a four-team event, but California sends two teams to the region tournament. The other two qualifiers are the champions of the Northwest and Southwest Divisional tournaments.
1962	Hawaii is placed the Western Region. Previously, Hawaiian leagues competed in the Pacific Region tournament structure.
1965	Provinces in Western Canada are placed in the Canadian Region, which for the first time encompasses all of Canada. The change leaves the Western Region with its current alignment of thirteen states in the Western U.S.
1971	The Western Region Tournament is permanantly located at the new Western Region Headquarters location in San Bernardino, California.
1972	The Western Region tournament is expanded to a thirteen team event, and the divisional feeder structure is not used. Qualifiers for the expanded field include state champions from each Western Region state, including a single California representative.
1974	The region tournament field increases to fourteen teams as California again sends champions from Northern and Southern California to the region tournament.
1992	The Western Region tournament converts to a double-elimination format.
1997	The region tournament's format is changed again, as officials establish two pools and conduct simultaneous double-elimination preliminary round sections. The winners in each section compete in a winner-take-all championship game that determines the Western Region champion.
2001	Little League Baseball expands the World Series field from eight to sixteen teams. As a result, each of the four U.S. regions is split into two divisions. The West is split into Northwest and West divisions, and the winners of these two tournaments advance to the World Series. Both tournaments continue to be held at Al Houghton Stadium on the grounds of Little League's Western Region headquarters in San Bernardino.
2002	Little League Baseball creates a new Southwest Region, which is headquartered in Waco, Texas. Colorado and New Mexico are reassigned to the new region from the Western Region, leaving both the Northwest and West regions with six-team fields.

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