Pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

, the Finnish variant of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, was played as a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

at Helsinki Olympic Stadium in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The ceremonial first feed, or pitch, was thrown at 18:00 on 31 July by Lauri Pihkala, who had created the sport. The teams playing were the Finnish Baseball Federation and the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation. In a match with a shortened schedule, the Finnish Baseball Federation won, 8–4.

Rosters

Finnish Baseball League (Pesäpalloliitto)

Eino Kaakkolahti Eino Vihtori Kaakkolahti (April 25, 1929 — June 25, 2014) was a Finnish pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball spor ...

, 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, right fielder * Viljo Kokkonen, substitute * Pertti Jaakkola, substitute * Eero Vilevaara, substitute

Worker's Athletic Federation (Työväen Urheiluliitto)

* 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

Sources

*
Official Report
XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pesapallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics Events at the 1952 Summer Olympics

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1952 in baseball

Discontinued sports at the Summer Olympics Olympic demonstration sports Men's events at the 1952 Summer Olympics