1956 European Baseball Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Italy |
| City | Rome |
| Dates | 10–15 July |
| Teams | 5 |
| Defending champions |  Spain |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Netherlands (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Belgium |
| Third place |  Italy |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 10 |
The 1956 European Baseball Championship was held in Rome, Italy and was won by the Netherlands, in its tournament debut. Belgium finished as runner-up. The games were played at the Motovelodromo Appio, the former home stadium of AS Roma.[1][2][3]
By winning tournament, the Netherlands qualified for the 1956 Global World Series, held in Milwaukee in the United States.[4][5][6]
Tournament summary
The Netherlands, in its first championship, won all its games, though most were close contests. The only blowout was its victory against Italy, previously the continent's baseball powerhouse. Dutch ace Han Urbanus squared off against Italy's Giulio Glorioso; Urbanus would later call the 1956 Netherlands–Italy game one of the best moments of his career.[7] Urbanus and Jan Smidt each won two games for the Dutch, with Smidt striking out 13 batters against West Germany and 16 against Belgium.[5] Smidt was named the pitcher of the tournament, though the Dutch manager had scheduled Smidt to face weaker opponents.[8]
France, which debuted in the 1955 tournament, did not participate, reportedly since many of its players were drafted to fight in the ongoing Algerian War.[7]
Pope Pius XII visited tournament participants on July 15, though Dutch and West German players missed the audience since they were playing a tournament game.[9]
Results
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | NED
|
BEL
|
ITA
|
 ESP
|
 FRG
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 23 | 8 | +15 | 1.000 | — | 1–0 | 13–2 | 6–4 | 3–2 | ||
| 2 | Belgium
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 8 | +19 | .750 | 1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 14–3 | 10–2 | ||
| 3 | Italy (H)
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 24 | −7 | .500 | 2 | 2–13 | 2–3 | 7–5 | 7–3 | ||
| 4 | Spain
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 30 | −13 | .250 | 3 | 4–6 | 3–14 | 5–7 | 5–4 | ||
| 5 | West Germany
|
4 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 25 | −14 | .000 | 4 | 2–3 | 2–10 | 3–7 | 4–5 |
References
- ^ "Second annual Global World Series baseball scorecard". Detroit Public Library. 1956. p. 18. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "A.S. Roma". AlbionRoad.com. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008.
- ^ "Archief Europees kampioenschap" [Archive European Championship]. Honkbalsite Archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-02-06.
- ^ "Holland team worrying all for nothing". The Wichita Eagle. Associated Press. 1956-07-17. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
- ^ a b Chetwynd, Josh (2019). Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 22–23. ISBN 9780786437245.
- ^ "Nederland greep de titel in Rome". De Maasbode (in Dutch). 1956-07-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
- ^ a b c Chetwynd, pp. 250–51
- ^ "De beste werper in Rome". De Tijd (in Dutch). 1956-07-20. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
- ^ "Honkballers misten Pauselijke audiëntie". De Maasbode. 1956-07-16. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-06.