AUGUST 12, 1936 | BERLIN, GERMANY – The largest crowd ever to watch a baseball game, up to that point, saw a “demonstration” game at the summer Olympics in Berlin on this date in 1936. In excess of 90,000 spectators saw two teams of amateurs both from the U.S., play a 7-inning contest. The final score was 6-5.
German fans had to be helped along with the nuances of the game. According to Baseball in the Olympics by Pete Cava, not until the announcer told the crowd that a batter making it all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run was a good thing for the batter did they cheer.
The Berlin attendance record stood until 93,103 fans showed up for an exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees in honor of former Dodger catcher Roy Campanella at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1959. The Dodgers, new to Los Angeles, made the Coliseum home for a few seasons waiting for Dodger Stadium to be built.
Speaking of international baseball, did you know more than 100 countries belong to the International Baseball Federation? For example, Argentina has 355 teams/3,500 players. Australia has 5,000 teams/57,000 players. Canada has 6,621 teams/119,178 players. Czech Republic has 60 teams/2,668 players.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
1936 Olympics
Baseball attendance records
Los Angeles Coliseum attendance records
Baseball in the Olympics, by Pete Cava, 1991