Team History
The 2009 Baseball World Cup will have 22 competing teams. The official website will offer a detailed history of these competing teams, including past results, statistics, great players and great teams. The Official Website is close to completions, however in the interim, this temporary site will offer a glimpse of what you can look for in the coming months leading up to the first pitch of the 2009 Baseball World Cup.
The first entries for Team History will all be in this section, beginning with Italy and the Czech Republic. The official site however, will allow every team there own section.
Australia
The Australian Baseball Team is the national team of Australia. It has participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996, 2000 and 2004, but failed to qualify for 2008. The team sent to the 2007 Baseball Cup included Australian players with Major League Baseball experience.
The team is controlled by the Australian Baseball Federation, which is represented in the Baseball Confederation of Oceania. The team has competed in the Asian Baseball Championship in previous year
Olympic Games
Australia was the third nation, after the United States and Sweden to participate in baseball at the Summer Olympics, making their first appearance at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, and again as part of its demonstration at the 1988 Games in Seoul.
Since baseball was first included as a medal sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Australia has participated in three of the five tournaments. The best result achieved was in the 2004 Games in Athens, where Australia lost the gold medal match to Cuba to receive silver.
1956 Melbourne Games
In 1956, two demonstration sports were allowed: a sport from the host nation and a foreign sport. Australian Rules football was chosen as the host nation sport, and baseball as the foreign sport. Rather than the tournaments that would be played at future Games, while still a demonstration sport only a single match was played against a team representing the United States on 1 December 1956, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Though many of the 114,000 people who attended were believed to be attending in anticipation of the athletics events to be held that afternoon, until an exhibition game played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2008 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, it had the largest attendance for a baseball game ever.
1988 Seoul Games
1988 was the last time that baseball was included as an Olympic sport without medal status, and was the second time that Australia participated at the Olympic level. Though not originally included in the eight team tournament, Australia joined Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United States after Cuba chose not to enter the Games. Australia was pooled with Canada, South Korea and the United States, but failed to qualify for the finals.
Olympic Games overall placement
1992: -1996: 7th2000: 7th2004: Silver Medal2008: -
Czech Republic
1920 – First baseball exhibition in Pilsen between Pilsen and Prague YMCA in Prague
1930s – The founder of Czech baseball is Joe First, introducing “playgroundball.” This game is especially at children camps
1945 – Joe First brings baseball equipment to a children camp in Sázava as a gift from YMCA
Baseball in a non-acceptable sport for the communist government
1963 – “Batting section” founded at the Czech Sport Association, which is lead by Aleš Hrabě, nowadays the Honorary President of the Czech Baseball Association. Miroslav Vojtíšek is the main coach and organizer of the Czech national team.
1964 – The first baseball game in Czechoslovakia after a long absence is in Prague
1968 – First regular competition with four competitors
1975 – “Softball and Baseball Association of the Czech Sport Association” is founded
1977 – Baseball is played also in Brno (Technika Brno team)
1979 – Expansion of competitions, Czech Baseball Cup
1993 – “Czech Baseball Association” is founded Statewide top division (so called Extraleague) is played for the first time
IItaly
1884 - Sailors from the ships Lancaster and Guinnebaug dock in Livorno on January 23rd and play a game attracting the interest of the daily paper "La Gazzetta Livornese"
1889 - Professional american teams on a tour organized by Albert G. Spalding, play exhibition games in Florence, Naples and Rome from February 22nd to 27th. The King and Queen of Italy stop to watch "for a moment or two"
1919 - Son of emigrants Max Ott moves back to Italy and introduces the game in Torino
1920 - Phisical Education teacher Guido Graziani organizes games in Roma, Piazza di Siena
1929 - The Farnesina Academy sends students to the USA to learn the game of baseball
1930-31 - The Farnesina Academy students come back to Italy and form teams playing exhibition games. After this, the Fascist Regime bans baseball as an american game
1947 - Baseball is re-introduced in Italy by the allied soldiers at the end of World War. Guido Graziani founds the Lega Italiana Softball (LIS). Fastpitch male tournaments are played
1948 - In Milan Max Ott founds the Lega Italiana Baseball (LIB)
1948 - In Roma Prince Steno Borghese founds the Associazione Italiana Baseball (AIB)
1948 - LIS organizes a tournament. AOA Lazio wins, but the competition is not considered official
1948 - LIS and AIB merge into Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS); Steno Borghese is elected president
1948 - On June 27th at the Giuriati field in Milano the first game played by Italians is played in front of a 2000 people attendance. Libertas Bologna wins the very first championship.
1948 - December 31st Max Ott leaves the presidence of LIB, his Vice President Bruno Beneck takes over
1949 - LIB (represented by Bruno Beneck) and FIBS (represented by Steno Borghese) merge. Steno Borghese is elected president. The Olympic Commitee refuses the new association amongst his Federations
1949 - In Torino and Milano are played the first games of women's fastpitch softball
1950 - In Bologna Presidente Steno Borghese chenges the name of the entity to Federazione Italiana Palla a Base (FIPAB). The new Federation tries again to enter the Olympic Committee (CONI) but with no success
1952 - For the third time CONI refuses to recognize FIPAB as a sports federation
1952 - Team Italy plays the first ever international match in the country against the national team of Spain. Italy loses 7-3, Gary Cooper attends the game together with at least 10.000 people at the 'Flaminio' stadium (that nowadays hosts rugby Six Nation's), Giulio Glorioso (who will become recordman for wins of Italian Baseball) takes the mound
1953 - With 14 votes against 4 CONI recognizes FIPAB as a Federation "aderente"
1954 - Italy participates in the first ever European Cup in Germany and wins it
1956 - The European cup is played in Italy however the 'azzurri' make it only to third place
1957 - With unanimous consent CONI, run by legendary president Giulio Onesti, admits FIPAB amongst its members
1960 - Giuseppe Ghillini takes over for Steno Borghese as FIPAB president
1968 - Bruno Beneck succeeds Giuseppe Ghillini and changes the name of the Federation to the original Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS)
1969 - Torino wins the first ever women's fast pitch softball
1970 - Italy participates for the first time to a baseball World Cup in Colombia
1973 - Italy organizes the first Intercontinental Cup
1977 - Italy wins the baseball European Championship in Holland for the first time
1978 - Italy is the first European Country to organize a Baseball World Cup
1984 - Italy participates in the Los Angeles Olympics. Riccardo Fraccari umpires the final game
1984 - Aldo Notari succeeds to Bruno Beneck as President
1988 - Italy organizes another baseball World Cup
1992 - Italy participates in the Barcelona Olympics
1998 - Italy organizes baseball World Cup
2000 - Italy participates in Sydney Olympics both in baseball and Softball
2000 - Everardo Dalla Noce takes over for Aldo Notari as President
2001 - Riccardo Fraccari takes over for Everardo Dalla Noce as President
2004 - Italy participates to the Athens Olympic Games both in baseball and softball
2004 - Riccardo Fraccari is re elected as President
2006 - Italy participates in the first World Baseball Classic, winning the inaugural game against Australia
More information coming soon!