Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball, was played as a demonstration sport at the 1952 Summer Olympics at Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.^[1]

Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics Demonstration sport
Games played	1
Date	July 31, 1952
Venue	Helsinki Olympic Stadium
City	Helsinki, Finland
Baseball at the Summer Olympics
«1936 1956»

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, 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

• Cava, Pete (Summer 1992). "Baseball in the Olympics". Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 7–15.
• Official Report. XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952.
• Bill Mallon, Jeroen Heijmans (2011). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 297. ISBN 9780810875227.

References

1. Smith, Red (2 August 1952). "How Fins Play A Ball Game Called Pesapallo". Ottawa Citizen. p. 15. Retrieved 10 August 2021 – via newspapers.com.