| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Nicaragua |
| Venue(s) | Estadio General Anastasio Somoza (in Managua host cities) |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Cuba (12th title) |
| Runner-up |  United States |
| Third place | Nicaragua |
| Fourth place |  Japan |
The 1972 Amateur World Series was the 20th Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (FIBA) and took place, for the third time, in Nicaragua, from November 25th to December 5, 1972.
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Cuba won its 12th international championship, and fourth consecutive title; the United States finished with the silver medal for the third time since returning to AWS competition in 1969. Nicaragua, the hosts, finished with the bronze for the second consecutive year.
The tournament occurred just weeks before the devastating 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. This led to a controversy where Nicaragua was suspended from FIBA on charges that it had been too late in paying FIBA the tournament revenues, despite the earthquake. The suspension of Nicaragua in light of these events was a catalyst for Nicaragua, the United States, and several other baseball federations to leave FIBA and form their own international baseball organization, FEMBA. [1]
