Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics explained

Above:	Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Label1:	Games played
Data1:	1
Label2:	Date
Data2:	July 31, 1952
Label3:	Venue
Data3:	Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Label4:	City
Data4:	Helsinki, Finland

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]

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.
• Book: Bill Mallon, Jeroen Heijmans . Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement . 2011. 297. 9780810875227 .

Notes and References

1. News: How Fins Play A Ball Game Called Pesapallo . Red . Smith . . 15 . August 2, 1952 . August 10, 2021 . newspapers.com.