Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

was again a demonstration sport at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Though it was nominally the "foreign" demonstration sport of that Olympiad,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

had a long history of baseball dating back to at least 1889. The Australians were the first to field a full team in an exhibition match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, represented by a detachment from the United States Far East Command. Many

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

cricket players – who were quite successful at

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

as a winter sport – were unable to be selected on the basis that they were

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

players.

Game

The game was played on 1 December 1956 from 12:30p.m. at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. Due to the field being set up between the

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

was only , so special ground rules were put in place, stating that a ball hit over the running track on the full will be declared a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, where one that bounces (or rolls) on or over the track shall be declared a

ground rule double A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the gro ...

. This rule was put in place to stop baseball cleats damaging the track for the events after the baseball. As the visiting team, the Americans batted first, scoring two runs off three hits. Australia did not strike back until the bottom of the second

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

, when Chalky White of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

hit a solo home run off Vane Sutton. Sutton made up for his error in the top half on the third inning, with a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

to send the score out to a commanding 6–1. The Americans again put the pressure on Australia in the fifth inning as two errors led to another two runs to the US, putting them in a comfortable position. The game was eventually called at 2:40p.m., after six completed innings and a final score of 11–5, with the Americans batting first. Very few fans were present at the start of the game, but over 100,000 had arrived by the sixth inning. This was due to the finals for the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, 4 × 400 metres relay, and finish of the men's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Game score

*Umpire:

Gunnah Mollah Gunnah Mollah was an Australian baseball player, coach and umpire. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of Queensland Baseball. Mollah played with the Eastern Suburbs club in the QBA Fixtures as a catcher in 1927 before moving to Vall ...

Harris, J.O. ''History of Queensland Baseball'' pp.95

Rosters

United States

Leonard Weissinger Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' ...

(Manager) *

Walter Koziatek Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

Vane Sutton Vane may refer to: People * Vane (surname) * Vane Featherston (1864–1948), English stage actress * Ivan Vane Ivanović (1913–1999), Yugoslav-British athlete, shipowner, political activist, and philanthropist * Vane Pennell (1876–1938), ...

Angelo Barro Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

Anthony Denicole Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

* Joe Belak * Joseph Poglajen * Garethe Methvin * Rudolph Martinez * John Clement * Ken Cochran *

Ken Lowe Ken Lowe was the head medical trainer of the Edmonton Oilers for 21 years until 2010, and had been with the team since 1989 overall. He has also represented Canada in various international tournaments. Career From 1982 to 1988, Ken served as ...

* Floyd Lasser * Alvin Pfeffer * John Riley * George Zucca * Tom Black * Jesse Finch * Richard Griesser * Bruce Holt * Ben Dolson

Australia

* Reg Darling (Manager) * Eddie Moule *

Peter Box Peter Box (22 March 1932 – 15 August 2018) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1950s. Box arrived at Footscray from Cheltenham and made his VFL debut in 1951. He ...

* Robert Teasdale * Max Lord * Barry Wappett * Colin Payne * Ken Smith * Max Puckett * Neil Turl * Norman Tyshing *

Ken Morrison Sir Kenneth Duncan Morrison CBE (20 October 1931 – 1 February 2017) was an English businessman, Life President, and former chairman of Morrisons (Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC), the fourth largest supermarket group in the United Kingdom. He ...

* Norman White * Peter McDade *

John Langley John Russell Langley (June 1, 1943 – June 26, 2021) was an American television and film director, writer, and producer who was best known as the creator and executive producer of the television show ''Cops (TV program), Cops'', which premiere ...

* Neville Pratt * Ross Straw * Trevor Cooke

Sources

*
Official Report
XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baseball at the 1956 Summer Olympics 1956 Summer Olympics events 1956 1956 in baseball 1956 Olympic demonstration sports