Baseball at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
Baseball
returned as a demonstration sport
for the third time at the 1952 Summer Olympics
in Helsinki
, Finland
. The game played was actually a variant of the sport called Finnish baseball or "pesäpallo".
The ceremonial first feed, or pitch, was thrown at 6 p.m. on 31 July by Lauri Pihkala
, who had created the sport. The teams playing were the Finnish Baseball Federation and the Worker's Athletic Federation. In a match with a shortened schedule, the Finnish Baseball Federation won 8-4.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
returned as a demonstration sport
Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...
for the third time at the 1952 Summer Olympics
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The game played was actually a variant of the sport called Finnish baseball or "pesäpallo".
The ceremonial first feed, or pitch, was thrown at 6 p.m. on 31 July by Lauri Pihkala
Lauri Pihkala
Lauri Pihkala was the inventor of pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball. He also competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics....
, who had created the sport. The teams playing were the Finnish Baseball Federation and the Worker's Athletic Federation. In a match with a shortened schedule, the Finnish Baseball Federation won 8-4.
Finnish Baseball League roster
- Eino Kaakkolahti, pitcher
- Leo Hannula, 1st baseman
- Viljo Niemi, left fielder
- Olli Hanski, 2nd baseman
- Antti Elomaa, catcher
- Pertti Ahonen, 3rd baseman
- Eero Vuorio, right shortstop
- Toivo Ilola, left shortstop
- Taisto Lehto, fight fielder
- Viljo Kokkonen, substitute
- Pertti Jaakkola, substitute
- Eero Vilevaara, substitute
Worker's Athletic Federation roster
- Aimo Paavola, pitcher
- Osmo Juntto, 1st baseman
- Onni Sallinen, left fielder
- Jorma Harlin, 2nd baseman
- Reino Hakkarainen, catcher
- Veikko Auersalmi, 3rd baseman
- Pauli Kilpiä, right shortstop
- Paavo Reiju, left shortstop
- Lasse Heikkilä, right fielder
- Pauli Lahtinen, substitute
- Pauli Vainio, substitute
- Oiva Huuskonen, substitute