Baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Demonstration sport
Tournament details
CountryJapan
CityTokyo
Venue(s)Meiji Jingu Stadium
DatesOctober 11, 1964
Teams2
Final positions
Champions United States
Runner-up Japan
Tournament statistics
Games played2

Baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport at the Tokyo games. It was the fifth time a baseball exhibition was held at the Olympics. The United States played two games against two different Samurai Japan lineups – one a collegiate team, the other made up of adult amateur players.

Game

The game was played on October 11, 1964, at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo.[1]

The U.S. team was made up of college baseball players—including eight future Major League Baseball players–and was coached by Rod Dedeaux, the longtime head baseball coach at the University of Southern California (USC).[2][3] Dedeaux brought an impressive pedigree to the U.S. side; he had already won four College World Series titles with the Trojans, most recently in 1963. Future major league players on the U.S. team were pitchers Alan Closter, Dick Joyce, and Chuck Dobson; catchers Jim Hibbs and Ken Suarez; outfielder Shaun Fitzmaurice; first baseman Mike Epstein; and second baseman Gary Sutherland.[4] Fitzmaurice hit a home run on the first pitch of the game.[4] Most of the other players on the roster went on to play baseball professionally in the minor leagues.

The Japanese collegiate team also had several future Nippon Professional Baseball players, including Tokuji Nagaike, a two-time Pacific League MVP with the Hankyu Braves, and Shozo Doi, a four-time NPB All-Star with the Yomiuri Giants.

Prior to the game, players held their own "opening ceremony", as they had not been included in the official opening of the Olympiad, due to baseball's status as a demonstration sport.[5] Additionally, the U.S. baseball team was housed at a YMCA rather than in the Olympic Village.[3] Outside of the Olympics, contemporary news reports note that the U.S. baseball team played a series of exhibition games in Japan and South Korea.[6][7]

The first game, against the Japanese collegiate team, was a 2-2 draw after nine innings,[8] while the second game, against the Japanese adult amateurs, was won by the American team, 3-0.[9] Approximately 50,000 fans watched the games.[4]

Results

October 11, at Meiji Jingu Stadium
Team123456789R
 United States1000000012
 Japan (collegiate)1000100002
October 11, at Meiji Jingu Stadium
Team123456789R
 United States0000010023
 Japan0000000000

Rosters

 United States

Source:[10]

 Japan

Collegiate Team

Adult Amateur Team

Sources

  • Cava, Pete (Summer 1992). "Baseball in the Olympics". Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 7–15.

References

  1. ↑ "Japan, U.S. Nines Seek Recognition". The Boston Globe. AP. October 12, 1964. p. 79. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Cava, p. 12
  3. 1 2 Zimmerman, Paul (October 21, 1964). "Yank Baseball Team Ignored". Los Angeles Times. p. III-2. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Cava, p. 13
  5. ↑ "U.S., Japan Seek To Make Baseball An Olympic Sport". The Tampa Tribune. AP. October 12, 1964. p. 29. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Ends Tour On Sour Note". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. AP. October 26, 1964. p. 9. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Phils Give Bonus to Gary Sutherland". Reading Eagle. November 11, 1964. p. 59 – via Google News.
  8. ↑ Asahi Shimbun, Evening Edition, Oct 11, 1964
  9. ↑ Asahi Shimbun, Morning Edition, Oct 11, 1964
  10. ↑ "NCAA News" (PDF). Vol. 1, no. 4. September–October 1964. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2012 – via Wayback Machine. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

Further reading


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