1954 European Baseball Championship

1954 European Baseball Championship

Tournament details
Country	Belgium
City	Antwerp
Dates	26–27 June 1954
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Italy (1st title)
Runners-up	Spain
Third place	Belgium
Fourth place	West Germany
Tournament statistics
Games played	4
1955  →

The 1954 European Baseball Championship was the first European championship in baseball. It featured four of the five member countries of the new Confederation of European Baseball, as France failed to field a team. ^[1] The Netherlands, which would dominate the event in the coming decades, ^[2] was not part of the organization because they did not think it would be sustainable.^{[ citation needed ]} The championship was held on June 26 and June 27 in Antwerp, Belgium. A messy affair, there was an average of more than 10 errors per game due to the low quality of baseball in Europe at that time. Italy took gold, beating Belgium 6–1 and Spain 7–4. Spain won silver after committing 8 errors in its loss to Italy. Spain beat West Germany by a score of 10–4 in its other contest. Belgium earned bronze, beating last-place Germany 12–5 in the highest-scoring game of the tournament. ^[1]

Matches

The tournament was played in a knockout system, with all four teams playing two games.

	Semi-finals				Final
	26 June
	Italy	6
					27 June
	Belgium	1
					Italy	7
	26 June
					Spain	4
	Spain	10
	West Germany	4
					Third place
					27 June
					Belgium	12
					West Germany	5

Final Standings

Pos.	Team
1	Italy
2	Spain
3	Belgium
4	Germany

Source ^[3]

References

1. Chetwynd, Josh (2008). Baseball in Europe : a country by country history . Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 233, 236. ISBN   978-0-7864-3724-5 . Retrieved 12 January 2026.
2. "Baseball - European Championships : Medal winners and event presentation". the-sports.org. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
3. "Archief Europees kampioenschap". honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-01-11.