1956 European Baseball Championship
The 1956 European Baseball Championship was held in Rome, Italy and was won by the Netherlands, in its tournament debut. Belgium finished as runner-up. The games were played at the, the former home stadium of AS Roma.
By winning tournament, the Netherlands qualified for the 1956 Global World Series, held in Milwaukee in the United States.
Tournament summary
The Netherlands, in its first championship, won all its games, though most were close contests. The only blowout was its victory against Italy, previously the continent's baseball powerhouse. Dutch ace Han Urbanus squared off against Italy's ; Urbanus would later call the 1956 Netherlands-Italy game one of the best moments of his career. Urbanus and each won two games for the Dutch, with Smidt striking out 13 batters against Germany and 16 against Belgium.France, which had debuted in the 1955 tournament, did not participate, reportedly since many of its players were drafted to fight in the ongoing Algerian War.