Flashback: Danny Almonte's perfect game at 2001 LLWS

It was on this day 15 years ago that a Dominican-born lefty named Danny Almonte, then believed to be a 12-year-old pitching phenom, became baseball's biggest sensation when he threw a perfect game in his Little League World Series debut.

Sadly, the fairytale abruptly ends there.

Armed with a 75-mph fastball and Randy Johnson-inspired nickname, "The Little Unit" captivated the nation during the middle of August 2001, when he led his Rolando Paulino Little League team from the Bronx to the U.S. championship game with a string of unprecedented performances.

Almonte, who would later be revealed as a 14-year-old pitcher playing amongst kids two years younger, struck out 16 batters in his six-inning perfect game - the first such effort in the LLWS since 1979. In another start, Almonte fired a 16-strikeout shutout, and would go on to finish the tournament having struck out 62 of the 72 batters he faced, while allowing just three hits and one unearned run in three starts.

Unfortunately for Almonte, his fame was about to turn infamous.

Shortly after the imposing 5-foot-8 left-hander and his Rolando Paulino team returned to the Bronx following their championship loss, a Sports Illustrated investigation revealed a cover-up over Almonte's real age, and his Bronx team was forced to forfeit its LLWS victories.

In a revealing interview as part of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Almonte, now a 29-year-old assistant high school baseball coach, said he was an unknowing participant in a scandal executed by his coach and father. With this year's tournament underway in Williamsport, the bizarre and fascinating Almonte story is certainly one worth revisiting: