Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball, was played as a demonstration sport at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
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.
Finnish Baseball League (Pesäpalloliitto) roster
change- 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) roster
change- 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