History of baseball outside the United States

Perhaps the first recorded instances of baseball played outside North America came in 1874, when a party comprising members of the Boston and Philadelphia clubs toured England both playing cricket and demonstrating baseball. A further tour, by the Chicago club with the addition of various All-Stars in the winter of 1888-1889, took the game to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and the south Pacific Islands[?]. Returning via Europe and North Africa they played more demonstration games, including one in front of the Sphinx in Egypt.

The International Baseball Federation (IBAF)

The International Baseball Federation[?] (IBF) was founded in 1938, after the inaugural World Championships in held in London. Only 6 years later, the name of the federation is changed to Federacion Internacional de Beisbol Amateur[?] (FIBA).

In 1973, struggles in the FIBA led to a dissident organisation, the Federacion Mundial de Beisbol Amateur[?] (FEMBA), which organised its own World Championships. The two organisation were reconciled in 1976, forming the International Baseball Association[?] (AINBA).

In 1984, the name of the federation was once again changed, this time to International Baseball Association[?] (IBA). In 2000, the original name was assumed again, International Baseball Federation, now abbreviated to IBAF.

World Championships

Great Britain 1938

The first World Championships in baseball were held in 1938, as teams from the United States and Great Britain played a series of five games. Britain won 4, and became the first baseball World Champion. After this championship, the IBF was founded (see previous section).

1. Great Britain
2. United States

Cuba 1939

The second World Championships were held in 1939, in Cuba.

1. Cuba
2. Nicaragua
3. United States

Cuba 1940

In 1940, Cuba again organised the World Championships, retaining the title as well.

1. Cuba
2. Nicaragua and United States
4. Venezuela and Hawaii
6. Mexico and Puerto Rico

Olympic Games

Sometimes, baseball matches played during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 are listed as demonstrations at the Olympic Games held in the same year. However, most historians do not regard them like this; actually any sports competition held in St. Louis has received a predicate 'Olympic'.

The first real Olympic appearance of baseball is in 1912, as a team from Västerås played against competitors from the U.S. track and field team at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. The United States beat the Swedish team, which played with some Americans borrowed from the opponent, 13 to 3. A second game was played later, which included decathlon star Jim Thorpe as a right fielder. USA won again, 6-3.

For the 1936 Olympics, the German hosts had invited the United States to play a demonstration match against Japan. As Japan withdrew, the US sent two 'all-star' teams, named the 'World Champions' and the 'U.S. Olympics'. For a layman crowd of 90,000 (sometimes reported as 125,000), the World Champions won 6 to 5.

There were plans for including baseball at the 1940 Olympics originally scheduled for Japan, but these plans were abandoned after Japan had to withdraw its bid because of its war in Manchuria.

After World War II, a Finnish game akin to baseball, pesapallo[?], was demonstrated at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. Four years later, another demonstration of baseball took place at the Olympic in Melbourne, Australia. A team made up of servicemen from the U.S. Far East Command played Australia. Although initially with few spectators, during the match the crowd for the other athletic events entered the stadium, adding up to 114,000 spectators, which is reportedly still the biggest crowd to any baseball game ever. The match was won by the USA, 11 - 5.

In 1964, the Olympic Games took place in Tokyo, Japan, where baseball was quite popular. A team of American college players - with 8 future major league players - was fielded against a Japanese amateur all-star team. The Americans continued their Olympic winning streak, as they triumphed 6 to 2.

In 1981, baseball was granted the status of a demonstration sport for Los Angeles 1984, and rather than a single match, a full tournament would be organised. With the strong Cuban team absent due to the Soviet-led boycott the field consisted of: United States, Japan, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Canada, Taiwan, Italy and Nicaragua. The final was contested between Japan and the US, and the guests won 6-3, ending the American Olympic victory row.

Another demonstration tournament was held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. Again, Cuba, the team that won all major international championships since 1984, boycotted the Games. In a field consisting of United States, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Canada, Taiwan, Netherlands and Australia, Japan and the US again reached the final. Helped by 4 RBIs and 2 homers from Tino Martinez[?], the United States won 5 - 3.

At the 1986 IOC congress, it had been decided that the first official Olympic baseball tournament would be held in Barcelona, Spain in 1992.

Barcelona 1992

This time, the strong Cuban team was present and it won all of its games, beating the US in the semi-finals 4 - 1, and routing Taiwan in the final 11 - 1. The United States was upset by Japan in the bronze medal match, losing 8 - 3. The final positions:

1. Cuba
2. Taiwan
3. Japan
4. United States
5. Puerto Rico
6. Dominican Republic
7. Italy
8. Spain

Atlanta 1996

In 1996, in Atlanta, Cuba and the United States were set to meet in the final. While the Cubans won their semi-final match against Nicaragua, the United States once again stumbled over Japan and lost 11 - 2. In the final, Cuba retained its Olympic unbeaten status, winning the gold 13 to 9, while USA beat Nicaragua 10 - 3 for the bronze medal. Final ranking:

1. Cuba
2. Japan
3. United States
4. Nicaragua
5. Netherlands
6. Italy
7. Australia
8. South Korea

Sydney 2000

For the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, professional players were allowed for the first time, although no Major Leaguers played for the US. Once again, Cuba was the hot favourite, but they were shocked in the round-robin phase by the Netherlands, who beat them 4 - 2 but failed to make the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the United States narrowly beat South Korea, while Cuba edged Japan 3 - 0 for a third straight Olympic final. In that final, the United States upset the Cubans, beating them 4 to nothing. Classification:

1. United States
2. Cuba
3. South Korea
4. Japan
5. Netherlands
6. Italy
7. Australia
8. South Africa

Africa

Only a small number of African countries are members of the IBAF, the members mostly concentrated in southern Africa and on the west coast of the continent. The only country so far to have competed in international events is South Africa, which took part in three World Championships, and finished 8th in the 2000 Olympics.

Americas

Asia

Japan

Baseball was introduced in Japan in 1873 and it currently among the country's most popular sports. The first professional competitions emerged in the 1930s. The current league consists of two leagues of 6 teams each. The country's national team has also been successful, having won two Olympic medals (bronze and silver), while the World Championships team never placed worse than 5th in its 13 appearances, winning second place once and third place three times. Recently, a number of Japanese players has also entered the Major League, such as Ichiro Suzuki.

Korea

A missionary P. Gillett introduced Baseball in 1905. The korean professional league started in 1982 with six teams, and now has 8 teams in it. And there are several korean players playing in the Major League, mostly Pitchers. The most famous among them is Park Chanho[?].

Europe

A European federation, the Confédération Européene de Baseball[?] (CEB, European Baseball Confederation) was founded in 1953. The federation organises all international competitions within Europe. These are the European Championships for country teams, divided into two divisions, and a number of club competitions: the European Cup, the Club Winners' Cup and the CEB Cup.

All of the European competitions have been dominated by only two countries: Italy and the Netherlands. They share 25 of the 27 European titles between them, the other titles being won by Belgium and Spain, both times in absence of one or two of the two usual winners, but these countries have medalled regularly as well. Other countries that are among the top players in Europe are Russia, France and the Czech Republic. Most of the club titles have also been won by Dutch or Italian teams.

Netherlands

Of the two major European nations, baseball was introduced in the Netherlands shortly after 1900. A baseball federation was founded in 1912, and a league was established in 1922, the first winner being Quick from Amsterdam. The Netherlands have won 15 European Championship titles, and participated in the Olympics twice, finishing fifth in 2000 after upsetting the Cuban team, though some of the players in the Dutch team were actually from the Netherlands Antilles. At the World Championships, a 6th position has been the best achievement so far. Four Dutch players have played in the Major Leagues, among which Robert Eenhoorn[?], who played for the New York Yankees. The World Port Tournament is an annual international tournament for national and club teams, organised in Rotterdam.

Italy

Italian league competition did not start until after World War II, as Bologna won the first title in 1948. The Italian team has won 8 European titles, among which the very first title, and the team has fought out many finals with archrival the Netherlands. Because of the large number of Americans of Italian descent, there are always a few players in the national team with double nationality. The Italian national team have competed at all three Olympics, finished 6th twice. Best World Championships showing was a fourth place, in 1998.

Oceania

Besides Australia and New Zealand, some of the island nations in the Pacific have baseball federations, especially those with American or Japanese backgrounds, such as Guam or Saipan. The only country from the region which has participated in major international competitions is Australia.

Australia

The first baseball game in Australia was played in 1856. At the end of the 19th century, Americans also tried to set up baseball leagues and competitions in Australia, with some success. A national league was initiated in 1934, and the national team entered World Championship competition in the late 1970s. Australia has finished 7th in the Olympics twice, which is also the highest position reached in World Championships.

A national-level competition still exists, as well as lower-level club competitions, but the game attracts comparatively little spectator or media interest. Several Australians, however, have attracted the attention of American scouts and have gone on to play in the major leagues in the United States.